Admissions

Barton Court Grammar School complies with the Co-ordinated Admission Scheme which is administered by Kent Local Authority. Detailed information about the school is available in the prospectus which can be found on the school website www.bartoncourt.org. Boys and girls are normally admitted at age 11, when all pupils must have gained a selective place through the Kent PESE and placed Barton Court Grammar School on their Kent Secondary Common Application Form, in order to be eligible for admission. Details of the Kent PESE are available from the Kent County Council booklet “Admission to Secondary School in Kent 2017”. There is no guarantee of a place to applicants who meet the over-subscription criteria.

The Published Admissions Number (PAN) in Y7 for September 2018 is 150, for all other year groups the PAN is as follows: Y8 for September 2018 is 150 all other year groups remains at 128. The school is usually over-subscribed. Before the application of oversubscription criteria children with a Statement of Special Educational Need (SSEN) or Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP), who name the school, will be admitted. As a result of this, the Published Admissions Number will be reduced accordingly.

Oversubscription criteria

If the number of preferences is greater than the number of places available, the following criteria for over-subscription will be applied in priority order:

• Children in Local Authority Care – a child under the age of 18 years for whom the local authority provides accommodation by agreement with their parents/carers (Section 22 of the Children Act 1989) or who is the subject of a care order under Part IV of the Act. This applies equally to children who immediately after being looked after by the local authority became subject to an adoption, residence or special guardianship order. (As defined by Section 46 of the Adoption and Children Act 2002 or Section 8 or 14A of the Children Act 1989)
• Current Family Association - a brother or sister attending the school when the child starts. In this context brother or sister means children who live as brother or sister in the same house, including natural brothers or sisters, adopted siblings, stepbrothers or sisters and foster brothers and sisters.

If siblings from multiple births (twins, triplets, etc) apply for a school and the school would reach its Published Admission Number (PAN) after admitting one or more, but before admitting all of those siblings, the LA will offer a place to each of the siblings, even if doing so takes the school above its PAN. 

• Health and Special Access Reasons – Medical, health, social and special access reasons will be applied in accordance with the school’s legal obligations, in particular those under the Equality Act 2010. Priority will be given to those children whose mental or physical impairment means they have a demonstrable and significant need to attend a particular school. Equally this priority will apply to children whose parents’/guardians’ physical or mental health or social needs mean that they have a demonstrable and significant need to attend a particular school. Such claims will need to be supported by written evidence from a suitably qualified medical or other practitioner who can demonstrate a special connection between these needs and the particular school.

 

• Nearness of children's homes to school - we use the distance between the child’s permanent home address and the school, measured in a straight line using the National Land and Property Gazetteer (NLPG) address point data. Distances are measured from a point defined as within the child’s home to a point defined as within the school as specified by NLPG. The same address point on the school site is used for everybody. The school uses measurements provided by the LA. If, in the event, more than one applicant has the same distance from home to school (as measured by the local authority), then a random selection will be applied. In the event that the final place offered from the ranked list falls to a pupil of a multiple birth, the school will offer a place to each of these children who have met the over-subscription criteria.

With reference to the oversubscription criteria please refer to Appendix 1 regarding residency.

After a place has been offered, the school reserves the right to withdraw the place in the following circumstances:

1. When a parent has failed to respond to an offer within a reasonable time; or

 

2. When a parent has failed to notify the school of important changes to the application information; or

 

3. The Admission Authority offered the place on the basis of a fraudulent or intentionally misleading application from a parent.

Waiting List

Parents of children who have not been offered a place at the School may ask for their child’s name to be placed on a waiting list. The waiting list, which will be maintained until the end of April 2018, will be operated using the same admissions criteria as above. Placing a child’s name on the waiting list does not guarantee that a place will become available. This does not affect the statutory right to appeal.

Applicants at a time later than the normal admissions age should apply direct to Barton Court Grammar School and will be tested by the school to obtain evidence of ability to keep pace with the work of this selective school. Details of the testing process can be found in Appendix 2.

The Published Admissions Number and over-subscription criteria apply as above. In the event of the year group being over-subscribed, a waiting list will be held, ranked according to the over-subscription criteria.

Parents have a statutory right of appeal, should an application be refused, by writing to The Clerk to the Governors, Admissions, Barton Court Grammar School, Longport, Canterbury, CT1 1PH, 01227 464600

Admission outside of the normal age group

Requests for admission outside of the normal age group should be made to the Headteacher of each preferred school as early as possible in the admissions round associated with that child’s date of birth. This will allow the school and admissions authority sufficient time to make a decision before the closing date. Such an applicant will be expected to have gained the ‘grammar’ classification in the Kent PESE Tests, and if a request to apply for admission outside the normal age group is granted, it does not guarantee a place at the school. Parents are not expected to provide evidence to support their request to defer their application, however where provided it must be specific to the child in question. This might include medical or Educational Psychologist reports. There is no legal requirement for this medical or educational evidence to be secured from an appropriate professional, however, failure to provide this may impede the school’s ability to agree to deferral. Parents are required to complete an application for the normal point of entry at the same time, in case their request is declined. This application can be cancelled if the school agrees to accept a deferred application for entry into Year 7 the following year. Deferred applications must be made via paper SCAF to the LA, with written confirmation from each named school attached. Deferred applications will be processed in the same way as all applications for the cohort in the following admissions round, and offers will be made in accordance with each school’s oversubscription criteria.

Barton Court Grammar School is a mixed Sixth Form. The majority of our students in Year 11 continue with their studies into our school Sixth Form and priority will be given to existing students transferring from Year 11 who meet the entrance criteria. The number of additional Year 12 places available for students being admitted to the school for the first time: 60.

Admission to Year 12 will be as a result of applicants meeting all the school entry requirements laid out below:

• At least 8 subjects at grades A*- C at GCSE (or grades 9 – 5 in the new GCSE qualifications), with at least 5 subjects at grade B or higher (or grade 6 or higher in the new GCSE qualifications),  including a minimum of grade C at GCSE (grade 5 in the new GCSE qualifications) in English, Mathematics and Science;
• The minimum entry requirements specified by the subjects of their choice

Admission to Year 13 will be as a result of students meeting the school entry requirements laid out below:

• All students wishing to complete their A Level study in Year 13 will be expected to attain a minimum of 4 D grades at the end of Year 12.

The admission number for external candidates will be 60, but this figure may be exceeded in the event that this and the number of internal pupils transferring in to Year 12 is less than the overall total figure for the year group, which is 180.

Over-Subscription

Following the admission of internal students transferring from Year 11, all remaining places will be allocated to learners who have met the entry requirements for the particular course of study.  Where there are more learners seeking places than the number of places available, the following oversubscription criteria will be applied in the order set out below to rank pupils until the overall figure for the year group is reached:

• Children in Local Authority Care – a child under the age of 18 years for whom the local authority provides accommodation by agreement with their parents/carers (Section 22 of the Children Act 1989) or who is the subject of a care order under Part IV of the Act. This applies equally to children who immediately after being looked after by the local authority became subject to an adoption, residence or special guardianship order. (As defined by Section 46 of the Adoption and Children Act 2002 or Section 8 or 14A of the Children Act 1989)
• Current Family Association - a brother or sister attending the school when the child starts. In this context brother or sister means children who live as brother or sister in the same house, including natural brothers or sisters, adopted siblings, stepbrothers or sisters and foster brothers and sisters.
  If siblings from multiple births (twins, triplets, etc) apply for a school and the school would reach its Published Admission Number (PAN) after admitting one or more, but before admitting all of those siblings, the School will offer a place to each of the siblings, even if doing so takes the school above its PAN.
• Health and Special Access Reasons – Medical, health, social and special access reasons will be applied in accordance with the school’s legal obligations, in particular those under the Equality Act 2010. Priority will be given to those children whose mental or physical impairment means they have a demonstrable and significant need to attend a particular school. Equally this priority will apply to children whose parents’/guardians’ physical or mental health or social needs mean that they have a demonstrable and significant need to attend a particular school. Such claims will need to be supported by written evidence from a suitably qualified medical or other practitioner who can demonstrate a special connection between these needs and the particular school.
• Nearness of children's homes to school - we use the distance between the child’s permanent home address and the school, measured in a straight line using Ordnance Survey address point data. Distances are measured from a point defined as within the child’s home to a point defined as within the school as specified by Ordnance Survey. The same address point on the school site is used for everybody. The school uses measurements provided by the LA and further information on how distances are calculated, including what is defined as permanent or main residence, is available in the “Admissions to Secondary School in Kent” booklet provided by the LA. If, in the event, more than one applicant has the same distance from home to school (as measured by the local authority), then a random selection will be applied. In the event that the final place offered from the ranked list falls to a pupil of a multiple birth, the school will offer a place to each of these children who have met the over-subscription criteria.

Offers and Appeals

Offers will be made on the basis of predicted performance at GCSE, with the requirement that the above grades are achieved in the final examinations prior to entry to the Sixth Form and the pupil’s 4 chosen subjects being accommodated on the timetable, in feasible group sizes.

All offers made during Year 11 are conditional on pupils meeting the grade criteria specified and will only become firm offers upon confirmation of actual GCSE results. Offer letters will be made before the end of May 2017. Offers will be confirmed once the school has been notified of GCSE results in August 2017.

Where learners have achieved better result than the predicted grades they will be considered based on the grades achieved and ranked accordingly for any places that become available as a result of other learners failing to meet the required entry levels.

Parents have a statutory right of appeal, should an application for a place be refused, by writing to The Clerk to the Governors, Admissions, Barton Court Grammar School, Longport, Canterbury, CT1 1PH, 01227 464600.

Late applications will be considered if places in appropriate subjects are still available after all other applicants have been considered.