Christopher Whitehead Language College’s Admissions Policy supports our primary purpose of delivering high quality education to all of our students. The following guidelines are established to provide Governors with parameters for accepting students to Christopher Whitehead Language College and establishing a waiting list in the event one becomes necessary. 

Our philosophy regarding admissions is as follows:

• Every effort will be made to attract and accept students with diverse ethnic, religious, racial and socioeconomic backgrounds.
• We are an inclusive community, accepting students with a diverse range of additional needs.
• A balanced student body of females and males is considered ideal.
• Priority will be given to students from our “feeder” schools, which include Dines Green, Oldbury Park, Pitmaston, St Clement’s CE, Our Lady Queen of Peace, Hallow and Rushwick primary schools.
• Priority acceptance will be given to siblings of current students.
• We reserve the right to place the child in what we deem to be the most suitable learning environment. Siblings will be placed in the same House but not the same Learning Mentor group.
• We reserve the right to admit children of all our staff who are out of area to improve staff work life balance.

Our published admission number (PAN) is the number of children that we will admit to our school, which for Year 7 in 2023 will be 284.  Applications should be made on-line at http://www.worcestershire.gov.uk/schooladmissions and must be submitted by 31^st October 2022. 

Applications naming our school will be sent to us for prioritising.  Children whose final statement of special educational needs or their education, health and care plan (EHCP) names our school will be automatically allocated a place, as long as the admission does not prejudice the provision of efficient education or efficient use of resources, after which places will be offered in the following order:

1. The school will give top priority to applications on behalf of Looked After Children and previously Looked After Children for whom the school is deemed to be appropriate. “A “looked after child” has the same meaning as in section 22(1) of the Children Act 1989, and means any child who is (a) in the care of the local authority or (b) being provided with accommodation by them in the exercise of their social services functions (e.g. children with foster parents) at the time of making the application to the school. A “previously looked after child” is a child who immediately moved on from that status after becoming subject to an adoption, child arrangement order or special guardianship order and includes those children who appear to have been in state care outside of England and ceased to be in state case as a result of being adopted.
2. Children who present themselves as skilled linguists. As a specialist Language College, we are seeking to recruit up to 10% of students who have proven aptitude for foreign language learning.
3. Children of all staff currently employed by Christopher Whitehead Language College on a permanent contract, who have at least two years’ service or who have been recruited to fill a vacant post where there is a demonstrative skill shortage.
4. Children living within the catchment area of our school who at the time of application have a brother or sister (including children living as siblings/stepchildren in the same family unit) on the roll at our school and who will still be on roll at the time of the sibling’s admission. (Precise details of our school’s catchment area are available from the Local Authority and on the Worcestershire County Council website).
5. Children living within the catchment area of our school who live closest to the school by the shortest straight line distance. This measurement will be taken by using Geocode points for each property and the Geocode for the centre of the school.  The Local Authority software package Arcview GIS can be used in the event of a disputed admission.  (In the event of equi-distance applicants, places will be allocated by random selection. Someone totally independent of the school will supervise this process.) Children living outside the catchment area of our school who at the time of application have a brother or sister (including children living as siblings/stepchildren in the same family unit) on the roll of the preferred school and who will still be on roll at the time of the sibling’s admission.
6. Children living outside the catchment area of our school who, at the time of application, attend one of our linked primary schools.
7. Children living outside the catchment area of the school who live closest to the school, based on the same LA measurement system as described in 5 above.

Please note:

• If the last student to be offered a place within our school’s published admission number (PAN) is a multiple birth or same cohort sibling, any further sibling will be admitted, if the parents so wish, even though this may raise the intake number above our PAN. However, our PAN will remain unchanged so that no other student will be admitted until a place becomes available within the PAN.
• Late applications will be allocated in the same order, provided places remain available.
• All applications will be coordinated by the LA, who will make offers of places on behalf of the Governors of our school.

WAITING LIST

When all available places have been allocated, Christopher Whitehead Language College will operate a waiting list.  Parents who wish their child to be included on the waiting list must inform us in writing.  Any places that become available will be allocated according to the criteria of the admission policy with no account being taken of the length of time on the waiting list or any priority order expressed as part of the main admission round.

The waiting list will be reviewed and revised:

• Each time a child is added to, or removed from, the waiting list.
• When a child’s changed circumstances will affect their priority.
• At the end of each school term, when parents/carers with a child on our waiting list will need to contact the school to reinstate the student to the waiting list for the following term if they so wish.

FAIR ACCESS PROTOCOL

As part of the Worcestershire Fair Access Protocol, incorporating the ‘Hard to Place Protocol’, we can be required to exceed the published admission number (PAN) to admit students covered by the Protocol.  Any such students take precedence over those on the waiting list.  Where admitting a child with challenging behaviour to a year group which has a high proportion of previously permanently excluded students and/or students with challenging behaviour*, a place may be refused and referred to the Fair Access Panel.

* Challenging behaviour is defined as: For the purposes of this Code, behaviour can be described as challenging where it would be unlikely to be responsive to the usual range of interventions to help prevent and address student misbehaviour or it is of such severity, frequency, duration that is beyond the normal range that schools can tolerate.  We would expect this behaviour to significantly interfere with the student’s/other students’ education or jeopardise the right of staff and student to a safe and orderly environment.

IN-YEAR ADMISSIONS

These applications will be co-ordinated on behalf of all schools by WCF, School Admissions, on behalf of the LA. The coordinated scheme can be viewed at the following link: https://www.worcestershire.gov.uk/downloads/download/1330/co-ordinated_schemes_for_all_worcestershire_schools

Applications for places ’in year’ or outside the normal round of admissions will be dealt with in line with the criteria outlined above.  The procedure is as follows:

• The family should in the first instance contact the school and arrange to meet with the Deputy Headteacher who has oversight of admissions.

• A common application form (CA1) should be completed, countersigned by the Headteacher of the student’s current school, and then sent directly to School Admissions at WCF.

 The ‘In Year’ application form (CA1) is available from: https://www.worcestershire.gov.uk/downloads/file/7324/ca1_application_form

CWLC will notify WCF of its decision, School Admissions will write to parents. Where it is not possible to offer a place, parents will be notified of the right of an appeal.

If there are insufficient places for all applications received at a time, then priority will be decided in accordance with the published admissions criteria for the school.

• When a student is transferring from another school in the UK, the Admissions Officer will normally contact the previous school to seek relevant information and to request that the student’s school records be forwarded at the appropriate time.
• Admissions via the Fair Access Protocol will be dealt with separately, usually directly between the Headteachers of the schools involved and may involve the school going over the PAN. This is undesirable and the PAN remains the same.
• Students from countries outside the UK who have been accepted at Christopher Whitehead Language College must provide proof of date of birth and of permanent residency in the Worcester area after an offer of a place has been made.

ADMISSION OF CHILDREN OUTSIDE OF THEIR NORMAL AGE GROUP

Parents may seek a place for their child outside of their normal age group, for example, if the child is gifted and talented or has experienced problems such as ill health, effectively in the year group below or above their chronological age group. The Governors’ Admissions Panel will make the decision based on the circumstances of each case. This will involve the school completing an educational assessment to determine whether or not it is appropriate for the individual child to delay or accelerate their entry into school and be taught outside of their chronological age group.

SIXTH FORM

The published admission number for entry to the Sixth Form Year 12, is 110. 

Entry requirements

• There are two different pathways available for study. The entry requirements for each of these pathways will be detailed on our website.
• Offers made are provisional on students attaining the entry requirements and are subject to the availability of places in the appropriate pathway, courses and classes.
• Applications supported by a reference are always preferable.

Oversubscription Criteria for Entry in to Sixth Form

In the event that Christopher Whitehead Language College Sixth Form is oversubscribed the oversubscription criteria will be followed.  The purpose of the published oversubscription criteria is to give everyone a fair opportunity to apply for a place in the Sixth Form.  The Governing Body have the authority to determine whether an applicant meets the criteria for admission.

Where there are more applications than places, students who fulfil the entry criteria will be offered provisional places, subject to availability in the agreed pathway and courses, in the following order of priority.

1. Looked After Children and Previously Looked After Children meeting our entry criteria.
2. Students with a sibling on roll at Christopher Whitehead Language College at the date of application who is likely to remain on roll at the date of admission.
3. Children of all staff who have been employed at Christopher Whitehead Language College and Sixth Form on a permanent contract for a period of at least two years at the date of application or who have been recruited to fill a vacant post for which there is a demonstrable skill shortage.
4. Students whose home is nearest the school by the shortest direct line.

Where there are too many applications from within the first category, applications will be given priority if they meet the conditions of the second category.  Applicants for remaining places will be given priority according to the third category.  In the event of a tie-break on distance from home then lots will be drawn for any available place.  This process will be supervised by someone independent of the school.

APPEALS

Any parent whose child has been unsuccessful in securing a place can appeal.  Appeals are heard by an Independent Appeals Panel, following procedures laid down in the Schools Appeals Code (February 2012 – updated September 2021).  Appeals must be made within twenty school days of receiving notification of an unsuccessful application.

LEGISLATION

This policy takes account of all relevant legislation including the Education Act 2011, the School Standards and Framework Act 1998, legislation on gender discrimination, race relations and disability, together with all relevant regulations and advice in the School Admissions Code (DfE –September 2021).

The school consults annually on the admissions policy via primary schools, secondary schools and the school website at www.christopherwhitehead.co.uk

Responses to these proposals are invited, and should be emailed to: office@cwlc.email