BOURNE END ACADEMY ADMISSIONS POLICY 2021 2022
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BOURNE END ACADEMY
ADMISSIONS POLICY
2021 – 2022Academy Context
Bourne End Academy is designated as an Upper Academy for boys and girls and is a non-selective
Academy. Bourne End Academy transferred to a new Multi Academy Trust – E-ACT – in September
2018. It has approximately 750 students including the Sixth Form.
Catchment Area
Proposed Expansion of Catchment Area from September 2021
Bourne End Academy is consulting on changing its catchment area as of September 2021 to extend
towards both the villages of Burnham/Farnham Royal and areas of West Wycombe. A plan of the
proposed extension is available on the Academy’s website.
The plan highlights where our existing catchment area is - marked with just a solid line and no shading;
where Burnham Park Academy’s catchment area was - shaded in light blue with diagonal lines; and
where the proposed extension is – both areas marked by diagonal lines on either side of our existing
catchment.
The extension into Burnham is in response to a request from Buckinghamshire County Council for
Bourne End Academy to expand the catchment as a result of the Secretary of State for Education's
recent decision to close Burnham Park Academy. Bourne End Academy is therefore proposing to
expand its catchment area to include all areas of the former Burnham Park catchment. Following the
closure of Burnham Park Academy, children from this area for whom Bourne End Academy is the
closest school are now eligible for free transport to the school (provided they live further than 3 miles
away or their walking route is deemed unsafe).
The extension into the Great Marlow catchment area is to ensure children in rural parts of
Buckinghamshire have sufficient choice of school to address peaks in demand and in response to the
increased popularity of the school with parents.
1. Admission Numbers
1.1 The planned admissions number (PAN) of students for each year group is
1.2 Year 7 to 11 – 150
Year 12 – 50
1.3 For entry into Year 12, in addition to students from the Academy’s Year 11 who have fulfilled
the entry requirements, there will be places for 20 external students who have fulfilled the
entry requirements.
2. Admissions at 11+ (Year 7 in September 2021)
2.1 For Year 7 admission, the Academy follows the application process and timelines set out by
Buckinghamshire County Council in the County Scheme. Where eligible applications for
admission exceed the number of places available, the criteria listed below will be applied in the
order set out below to decide which student who meets the required standard to admit.
Students who qualify and have a statement of Special Educational Needs, or an Educational
Health and Care Plan, naming the Academy, will be admitted prior to the application of these
admission rules.
2.2 Over-subscription
1. A ‘looked after child’ or a child who was previously ‘looked after’ but immediately after
being ‘looked after’, became the subject of an adoption, residence order or special
guardianship order'. (Note 1 & 2)
2. Children living in the catchment area of the Academy on 31 October 2021. (Note 3)
23. Siblings of students in Years 7 to 12 who are on the roll at the Academy at the time
allocations are made and who will be on the roll at the Academy at the time of the
proposed admission.
4. Any other applications
2.3 Tiebreaker
Once the above rules have been applied, and if there were to be a tie within any of the above
rules, then any further places will be offered in distance order, measuring from the geocoded
point of the family’s normal home address to the geocoded point of the nearest of the school’s
main entrance, using the Local Authority’s measurements, offering the closest first. Where two
or more applicants have a home address at the same distance from Academy and it is necessary
to decide which child will be admitted, random allocation will be used. The random allocation
process will be independently supervised.
2.4 Multiple Births
In the case where there is one place left and the next student due to be admitted is one of a
twin, triplet or other multiple birth group, both twins may be admitted, or all students in the
case of multiple births, even if this goes above the admission number for the Academy.
2.5 Waiting List
2.5.1 If any vacancies arise between National Offer Day, 1 March, and 31 December of the same year,
priority will be given to those on the waiting list managed by Buckinghamshire County Council
through the County Scheme.
2.5.2 From 1 January to 31 August the waiting list for admissions into Year 7 will be maintained by
Bourne End Academy. If places become available during this period, or for the beginning of the
following academic year, admissions will be handled in accordance with the In-Year Procedure
outlined below.
2.5.3 Any places will be allocated from the waiting list using the oversubscription criteria set out
above and not by the date that a student joined the waiting list. If parents decline an offer of a
place, they may subsequently re-join the waiting list. The child’s name will be added onto the
end of the waiting list as extant at the time the request to re-join is made.
2.5.4 Each child added to the waiting list will require it to be ranked again in line with the
oversubscription criteria. Priority will not be given to children based on the date their
application was received or their name was added to the list. Looked after children, previously
looked after children, and those allocated a place at the school in accordance with a Fair Access
Protocol, will take precedence over those on a waiting list.
2.6 Admission outside the normal age group
2.6.1 Applications should be made as soon as possible for a place. When a request is received for
admission out of the normal age group, Bourne End Academy will make decisions in the best
interests of the child, taking into account the views of the Headteacher. This will also include
taking account of Parents’ views: information about the child’s academic, social and emotional
development, where relevant their medical history and the views of a medical professional;
whether they have previously been educated outside of their normal age group, and whether
they may naturally have fallen into a lower age group if it were not for being born prematurely.
Any decision letter will make the reason for the decision clear. If a child applies for an out of
year place, then their admission will be managed based on the determined admissions
3arrangements only and we will not give the applicant a lower priority because they are out of
their normal year group.
2.6.2 To apply for admission out of the normal age group, please follow the admission procedure for
the year for which entry is being sought, but if applying through the local authority it would be
helpful to notify the Academy (BEAOffice@E-ACT.org.uk) as well.
2.7 In-Year Admission Arrangements - Making an in-year application
2.7.1 How you make an application will depend on why you wish to move Academy:
• if you wish to move schools but are not moving house, you will need to speak to the admissions
officer for an application form
• if you are moving house you can use Buckinghamshire County Council’s online application form
• if you are moving to a grammar school your child will need to take a transfer test
You can only make an in-year application 6 weeks before you intend to move schools.
2.7.2 Admissions to Years 8, 9 and 10 (and to Year 7 from 1 January each academic year) will be
handled in accordance with the Academy’s In-Year Procedure on our website. Places will not
be offered in at any time in Year 11 and only into Year 10 in exceptional circumstances because
of the nature of the GCSEs or equivalent courses, even when the year group is below PAN.
Please note that we do not accept applications for students whose age falls outside the normal
age range of the cohort, save in exceptional circumstances, for example if a student has missed
at least a year of schooling through illness. Where a vacancy is created through a planned move
by parents to coincide with the start of a Academy term/half-term, the Academy will make an
offer to the first child on the waiting list as soon as written notice of intention to remove the
child from the Academy has been received from the parents. This offer will be made for the
child to be placed on roll at the start of the following term / half-term. In all other circumstance
where a place becomes vacant, for example, permanent exclusion, a place will be offered to
the child in the first position on the waiting list, as soon as the child currently holding the place
has been removed from the Academy’s roll. Such formal removal will only take place after all
appropriate procedures have been completed.
2.8 Sixth Form Admissions
We accept applications from external students wishing to transfer from other schools. A
maximum of 25 external candidates will be admitted if they meet our entry requirements, and
course places remain available after allocation to qualifying internal candidates.
2.8 Sixth Form Application Procedure
2.8.1 Applications from internal students will close by the second Friday in December and students
should use the relevant application form available on the website.
2.8.2 Applications from external students will close by the last Friday in January students should be
made directly to the school using the relevant application form available on the website.
2.8.3 Minimum entry requirements, which are the same for both internal and external applicants are
detailed below.
2.8.4 Prospective students will be invited in for a meeting as an opportunity to ask questions, have a
tour of the school and find out more about the options.
42.9 Sixth Form Entry Requirements
2.9.1 Entry requirements are the same for internal and external students, and are that a student will
have achieved:
• a minimum of 44 points from the best 8 GCSEs (or equivalent) including English Language and
Maths; where students have not taken 8 GCSEs, cases will be considered on an individual basis
by the Admission Committee.
• at least a grade 5 in English Language and Maths
• at least a grade 6 in the appropriate GCSE for each subject to be taken at A Level (and there
may be other grade requirements to take certain subjects, e.g. Further Maths – details will be
in the Sixth Form Prospectus published each Autumn).
For GCSEs taken early or that still use A*-G grades, the values of those grades will be:
A* A B C D E F G
8.5 7 5.5 4 3 2 1.5 1
Average Qualifications
point score
6.5 + 3 A Levels and 1 AS
5.0 – 6.4 3A
levels
or
BTEC National and AS equivalent to 3 choices
4.5 - 4.9 BTEC National & 1 AS totalling 3 choices
3.8 – 4.4 BTEC National equivalent to 3A levels
Grade 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0
Points 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0
2.9.2 A student needs to meet the subject specific entry requirements as detailed in the Sixth Form
Prospectus
2.9.3 The Academy will determine the number of subjects a student should be taking; the
Headteacher will be the final arbiter.
2.9.4 Subjects Studied
A student who has qualified for admission will, in most cases, be able to study the subjects for
which he/she is qualified, but this is dependent on the following:
1. the course(s) required is / are on offer
52. group sizes are viable. If a subject or course does not attract sufficient applicants either at AS,
A2 or BTEC Level, it may not run
3. there are enough places in the classes provided for each subject. The Academy reserves the
right to refuse admission to subjects when planned classes are full.
2.10 Oversubscription Criteria for Sixth Form
Where eligible external applications for admission exceed the 25 places available, the following
criteria will be applied in the order set out below to decide which student/s to admit after
qualifying internal candidates are allocated their places.
1. A ‘looked after child’ or a child who was previously looked after but immediately after
being looked after became the subject of an adoption, residence child arrangements or
special guardianship order (Note 1)
2. Siblings of current students in Years 7 to 12 at the point of allocation and who will be
on roll at the Academy at the time of the proposed admission
3. Other pupils within the catchment area
2.11 Tiebreaker
Once the rules above have been applied, any further places will be offered in distance order,
using the distance between the family’s normal home address and the Academy’s nearest open
entrance gate, offering the closest first, using the method adopted by Buckinghamshire County
Council. Where two or more applicants have a home address at the same distance from
Academy and it is necessary to decide which child will be admitted, random allocation will be
used. The random allocation process will be independently supervised.
2.12 General
2.12.1 This Admissions Policy is subject to consultation whenever changes are proposed and an annual
review.
2.12.2 A map of the school’s catchment area for Year 7 and later admissions is available on the
Admissions pages of Bourne End Academy website.
2.12.3 Parents wishing to know their entitlement to free transport should contact Buckinghamshire
County Council’s Home Transport Service – details at www.buckscc.gov.uk
2.13 Explanation of terms relating to all Categories of Admission
Note 1 - Definition of Looked after children and previously looked after children
For admissions purposes a ‘looked after child’ is a child who is in the care of a local authority in
England, or is being provided with accommodation by a local authority in England in the exercise of
their social services functions (see the definition in Section 22 (1) of the Children Act 1989). This
covers accommodated children and those who are in care under a Care Order/interim order. This
can include living with family or friends, in foster care, a children's home, residential school, special
school or in supported lodgings. This rule includes children who were previously looked after and
immediately after being looked after became the subject of an adoption, child arrangement order or
special guardianship order as set out below.
Child arrangements order: is an order setting the arrangements to be made as to the person with
whom the child is to live under the Children and Families Act 2014 Special guardianship order: is an
6order appointing one or more individuals to be a child's special guardian (or special guardians) under
Section 14A of the Children Act 1989
Note 2 - Adopted Child
An adopted child is a child who was adopted under the Adoption Act 1976 or the Adoption and
Children Act 2002
Note 3 - Catchment Area
The catchment area for Bourne End Academy covers the areas in the map of the catchment area and
is available on the both our website and Buckinghamshire County Council’s website.
https://services.buckscc.gov.uk/school-admissions/schools
Note 4 -Transport
Parents wishing to know their entitlement to free home to Academy transport should contact
Buckinghamshire County Council’s Admissions Team. More information is available from
https://services.buckscc.gov.uk/school-admissions/transport
Note 5 - Sibling
A sibling is a brother or sister. For admission purposes we mean one of two or more individuals who
have one or more parent in common or any other child (including an adopted or fostered child) who
lives at the same address and for whom the parent also has parental responsibility or, (in the case of
a fostered child) delegated authority. A pupil in a secondary school will only count to provide a
priority to a sibling if he or she is attending the school in Y7 to Y10 at the allocations are made
(March for the main point of entry) and is still expected to be on the school’s roll at the time of the
proposed admission (September) or Years 7-11 at the time of admission for in-year admissions.
Note 6 - Parent
The application form should be completed by a person who is the student’s parent. This is as defined
in law (the Education Act 1996) as either:
• Any person who has parental responsibility (defined in Children Act 1989) for the child or
young person; or
• Any person who has care of the child or young person.
Note 7 - Normal Home Address
This is the child’s home address. This must be where the parent or legal carer of the child live
together unless it is proved that the child is resident elsewhere with someone who has legal care and
control of the child. The address should be a residential property that can be permanently occupied
52 weeks of the year without any restrictions on occupation and not subjected to any planning or
contractual restrictions on the duration of occupancy and is your child’s only or main residence that
is owned, leased or rented by the child’s parent(s) or person with legal care and control of the child.
If the residence is not split equally between the Parent(s)/Carer(s), then the relevant address used
will be the address at which we are satisfied that the child spends the majority of the school week.
Where there is an equal split or there is any doubt about residence, we will make a judgment about
which address to use for the purposes of allocation. In making this judgment we will take into
account the following:
• any legal documentation confirming residence
• the pattern of the residence
7• the period of time over which the current arrangement has been in place
• confirmation from the previous school of the contact details and home address provided to them
by the parents
• which parent is in receipt of child benefit
• where the child is registered with their GP
• any other evidence the parents may supply to verify the position.
Note 8 - Evidence of Normal Home Address
The process for verifying the normal home address of applicants will match the County Scheme
except that:
In order to qualify for admission under Rule 2, the applicant must have been resident within the
catchment area continuously since April 1st of the year preceding proposed admission.
a) If a family still owns a property within 20 miles of the Academy which has been the main
family home, a property closer to the Academy will not be accepted as the basis for a legitimate
residence qualification even if the former property is leased to a third party.
b) The Academy may require a higher standard of evidence for “residence qualification‟ than
that outlined in the County Scheme if there are reasons for casting doubt on the honesty of an
application.
Note 9 – Geocoded
‘Geocoded’ here means the conversion of a postal address to a single point on a map
Returning forces personnel and crown servants will be dealt with in line with the County Scheme.
The shortest route will be measured by Buckinghamshire County Council’s Geographical Information
System as described on the Buckinghamshire County Council’s website.
2.14 General
a) This Admissions Policy is subject to consultation whenever changes are proposed.
b) Buckinghamshire County Council will establish arrangements for appeals against non-
admission
c) A map of the Academy’s catchment area for Year 7 and In-Year admission is available on
Buckinghamshire County Council’s website.
d) Parents wishing to know their entitlement to free transport should contact Buckinghamshire
County Council.
2.15 Policy Review
This Admissions Policy is reviewed every year by E-ACT and us subject to consultation every seven
years or when changes are proposed. Comments relating to any changes in this policy should be
emailed to beaoffice@E-ACT.org.uk with the header ‘Admissions feedback’.
2.16 Fair Access Protocol
The Academy complies with the Buckinghamshire In-Year Fair Access Protocol.
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