2023 Admissions

Admissions Policy for 2023 Intake

Bourne Grammar School became an Academy on 1 January 2012. The School’s Governing Body is the Admissions Authority for Bourne Grammar School.
In accordance with legislation the allocation of school places for qualified children with the following will take place first; an Education, Health and Care Plan (Children and Families Act 2014). We will then allocate the remaining places in accordance with this policy.
The PAN for 2023 entry is 240.
For entry into Year 7 in September we will allocate places to parents who return an application before we consider any parent who has not returned one.
The oversubscription criteria are listed in order. Words marked with a number, for example 1, 2 and 3 are explained separately in the definitions and notes section.

Oversubscription criteria

In accordance with legislation, the allocation of places for children with an Education, Health and Care Plan naming the School in the plan will take place first (Children and Families Act 2014) Remaining places will be allocated by applying the Oversubscription criteria to Admission applications in the following order:

Looked After Children (LAC) and Previously Looked After Children (PLAC), including those children who appear to have been in state care outside of England and cease to be in state care as a result of being adopted (IPLAC) (1)
There is a sibling (2) on roll at the School at the time of application.
Children of staff (3)
The distance from the home to school. Priority will be given to the child living nearest the School, as defined in note 4. If two or more children are tied for the last place a lottery will be drawn by an independent person, not employed by the School or working in Children’s Service Directorate at the local authority.

Bourne Grammar School is academically selective. Children who want a place at the School must firstly have qualified under the selection arrangements. They must also fill in the common application form or apply online. In the event of the School being oversubscribed by qualified applicants, governors will allocate places using the criteria listed above.

The qualifying standard is an aggregate standardised score of 220 in a Verbal Reasoning test and a Non-Verbal Reasoning and Spatial Awareness test. This standard is intended to identify the top 25% of children by ability that live in an area of Lincolnshire served by a grammar school. This means the percentage pass rate may vary from one area to another and from one year to another, depending on the abilities of the children in a local area in any one year.

Definitions and Notes

Looked After Children (LAC) and Previously Looked After Children (PLAC)
1. A 'looked after child' is a child who is (a) in the care of a local authority, or (b) being provided with accommodation by a local authority in the exercise of their social services functions (see the definition in Section 22(1) of the Children Act 1989 at the time of making an application to a school.
2. A child is regarded as having been in state care outside of England if they were in the care of or were accommodated by a public authority, a religious organisation, or any other provider of care whose sole or main purpose is to benefit society.
3. Previously looked after children are children who were looked after, but ceased to be so because they were adopted (or became subject to a child arrangements order or special guardianship order). This includes children who were adopted under the Adoption Act 1976 (see section 12 adoption orders) and children who were adopted under the Adoption and Childrens Act 2002 (see section 46 adoption orders).
4. Child arrangements orders are defined in s.8 of the Children Act 1989, as amended by Section 12 of the Children and Families Act 2014. Child arrangements orders replace residence orders and any residence order in force prior to 22 April 2014 is deemed to be a child arrangements order.
5. Section 14A of the Children Act 1989 defines a ‘special guardianship order’ as an order appointing one or more individuals to be a child’s special guardian (or special guardians).
Sibling
1. A full sibling, whether or not resident in the same household.
2. Another child normally living for the majority of term time in the same household, where an adult in the household has parental responsibility as defined by the Children Act 1989. Or any child in the household where an adult in the household is defined as a parent for the purposes of Section 576 of the Education Act 1996.
3. In the case of siblings in the same year group, where there is only one place available in the School, all will be considered together as one application. The School will be allowed admit the students as one application.
Children of Staff
1. The Admission Authority give priority in their oversubscription criteria to children of staff in either or both of the following circumstances:
  1. Where the member of staff has been employed at the School for two or more years at the time at which the application for admission to the School is made, or
  2. The member of staff is recruited to fill a vacant post for which there is a demonstrable skill shortage.
Distance to School
1. The nearest address to the School is found by measuring the distance from your address to the School by straight-line distance. Straight-line distance is calculated electronically to three figures after the decimal point (e.g. 1.543 miles) by Lincolnshire County Council school admissions team from the Post Office Address point of the home to the Post Office address point of the School. As stated in Section 2 admission priority will be given to the child living nearest the School.
2. The home address is considered as the address where the child lives for the majority of term time with a parent as defined in section 576 of the Education Act 1996.
3. Where a child lives normally during the school week with more than one parent at different addresses, the home address accepted for the purposes of school admissions will be the one where the child spends the majority of term time.
4. If a parent can show that their child spends an equal amount of time at two addresses during school term time with a parent, they can choose which address to use on the application.
5. If a parent has more than one home, we will accept the address where the parent and child normally live for the majority of the school term time as the home address.

The oversubscription criteria are listed in the order we apply them. If it is necessary to distinguish between more than one applicant in any criteria, the next criteria will be applied until the tie-breaker is used. Tie breaker: If two or more children are tied for the last place a lottery will be drawn by an independent person, not employed by the school or working in Children's Service Directorate at the local authority.

Year 7 Admission

1. Arrangements for applications for places in Year 7 at Bourne Grammar School will be made in accordance with Lincolnshire County Council's co-ordinated admission arrangements.
2. Parents resident in Lincolnshire can apply online at www.lincolnshire.gov.uk/schooladmissions, they can also apply by telephone, or ask for a paper application form, by telephoning 01522 782030.
3. Parents resident in other areas must apply through their home local authority.
4. This School will adhere to the timescales outlined in the Lincolnshire County Council Co – ordinated admissions scheme available at www.lincolnshire.gov.uk/schooladmissions for these applications and the relevant Local Authority will make the offers of places on our behalf as required by the School Admissions Code (2021).
5. In year admissions are dealt with in accordance with the in year section below.

Reserve Lists

1. A child will only be added to the reserve list if they have achieved the required standard in the selection tests or have been deemed qualified by the independent appeal panel.
2. For admission into the intake year the admission authority for this School will operate a reserve list. In the normal admissions round if we refuse a place at our school your child is automatically placed on the reserve list, unless you have been offered a higher preference school.
3. This list is kept in the order of the oversubscription criteria, as required by the school admissions code.
4. Children can move up and down the list depending on where the other children are ranked against the oversubscription criteria at the point of offering a place.
5. The admission authority must not take account of the time you have been on the list when allocating places.
6. For the intake year the list is held by the Local Authority School Admissions Team until the end of August. After this, the school keeps this list until (December 31st of the admitting year/another time). Potential students names will be held on the waiting list from the relevant allocation of places date until the end of Year 9.
7. Following this unsuccessful parents may elect to place their child’s name on the School’s waiting list. If a place becomes available at the School, the place will be allocated in accordance with the over-subscription criteria.

Mid-Year Admissions

1. The Admissions Authority will accept admissions into other year groups if there are places available and your child has qualified. If there are more applications than places then the oversubscription criteria will be used to decide who should be offered the place. If there are no places to offer, you will be inform of your right of appeal.
2. Mid-Year testing for Year 7 will consist of a Verbal Reasoning and Non-Verbal Reasoning and Spatial Awareness Test, taken by the students currently in Year 7. A qualification score of 220 and above is required.
3. All students in Years 8-10 who require a mid-year Admissions Test, will be provided with an age appropriate aptitude test, such as a CAT4.
4. A qualification score of 220 and above is required by all students.
5. Any parent wishing to arrange a mid-year test should, in the first instance, contact [email protected] to request a registration form.

Sixth Form admissions

All applicants (internal and external) need to meet the School’s overall academic standards for admission to the Sixth Form and additionally any specific requirement for the particular subject. These are as follows (correct at time of publication September 2020):
1. All students require a minimum of 7 GCSE passes (grade 9-4) including a minimum of grade 4 in English Language and Mathematics.
2. Students must also meet the subject-specific criteria for their A-Level subject choices, which are published on the relevant page of the School website.
The PAN for Year 12 is 50 places (PAN is the minimum number of places available for external applicants).
If there are more applicants than places available, then applicants will be offered places in accordance with the oversubscription criteria detailed below:
1. Looked After Children (LAC) and Previously Looked After Children (PLAC) including those children who appear to have been in state care outside of England and cease to be in state care as a result of being adopted (IPLAC) (1)
2. Students who are current Year 11 students at Bourne Grammar School
3. The highest grade achieved in the relevant subject or subjects, or for those subjects not available at GCSE or equivalent, a relevant subject specified in the School’s Sixth Form Prospectus for 2022 Entry
4. The highest average points score achieved across all GCSE subjects taken by the applicant
5. Straight line distance from home to the School, with the applicant living nearer to the School having priority. This would be the tie-breaker if necessary.

Children of UK Service Personnel (UK Armed Forces)

In order to support the military covenant aimed at removing disadvantage for UK service personnel (UK armed forces), and Crown servants returning from abroad the following arrangements will apply.

For families of UK service personnel with a confirmed posting to the area, or crown servants returning to live in the area from overseas, the Admissions Authority will:
1. Process an application in advance of the family arriving in the area provided it is accompanied by an official letter that declares a relocation date and a Unit postal address, intended address or quartering area address to use when considering the application against the school's oversubscription criteria.
2. Accept a Unit postal address or quartering area address for admissions purposes for a service child where the parent requests this
3. The Admissions Authority will not refuse a service child a place solely because the family does not have an intended address or does not yet live in the area.
Evidence of an intended address will be required such as tenancy agreement, or mortgage statement. Please contact the school for more details.
For late coordinated applications and midyear applications supported by the appropriate military documentation, we will aim to remove any disadvantage to UK service personnel (UK Armed Forces). The governors will consider whether:
1. An application from that address would normally succeed in an oversubscribed year
2. There is any child on the reserve list with higher priority under the oversubscription criteria
3. The prejudice from admitting an extra child would be excessive.

The Admissions Authority have discretion to admit above the admission number in these circumstances if they wish but are not obliged to do so. It may be that the Admissions Authority still cannot admit because of organisational or curriculum difficulties within the school. As Bourne Grammar is selective, the child must have qualified as well as live within the distance of the last child admitted in the last admission round that was oversubscribed on offer day. If a place is refused, you will be informed of your right of appeal.

Admission of children outside 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.
Parents wishing to make these requests must contact their home local authority for guidance on the procedure to follow. Parents resident in Lincolnshire should call 01522 782030 or email [email protected] for advice on the procedure to follow.
It is important for parents to note that they will have the opportunity and responsibility to provide whatever evidence they wish to support their request.
This school will make decisions on the basis of the circumstances of each case and in the best interests of the child concerned.
This will include taking account of:
1. the parent’s views;
2. any available information about the child’s academic, social and emotional development;
3. where relevant, their medical history and the views of a medical professional;
4. whether they have previously been educated out of their normal age group;
5. any evidence that the child may naturally have fallen into a lower age group if it were not for being born prematurely
6. the views of the head teacher.

Appeals

1. In all cases where a place is refused at a school the applicant will be informed of their right of appeal to an independent panel. The decision of the independent panel is binding on all parties.
2. Details of how to appeal a decision to refuse admission will be communicated to the applicant at the time of the refusal and will also be available on the Lincolnshire County Council website.
3. The Admissions Authority will not consider a repeat appeal in the same academic year unless there has been a relevant change in circumstances.

Fair Access Protocols

1. Local Authorities are required to have Fair Access Protocols in order to make sure that unplaced children who live in the home local authority, especially the most vulnerable, are offered a place at a suitable school as quickly as possible. This includes admitting children above the published admissions number to schools that are already full.

Fraudulent or misleading applications

We reserve the right to check any address and other information provided so we can apply the oversubscription criteria accurately and fairly.
As an admission authority we have the right to investigate any concerns we may have about your application and to withdraw the offer of a place if we consider there is evidence that you have made a fraudulent claim or provided misleading information, for example if a false address was given which denied a place to a child with a stronger claim.
If a place is withdrawn, the application will be considered afresh and you will be advised of your right of appeal if a place is refused.

Applications should be made via Lincolnshire County Council or directly to the School. If there are more applications than places then the oversubscription criteria will be used to decide who should be offered a place. If it is necessary to refuse a place then you will be informed of your right of appeal. Parent can apply online at www.lincolnshire.gov.uk/schooladmissions or call 01522 782 030 for a paper form. Bourne Grammar School will use the Lincolnshire County Council's timetable published online for these applications and the relevant Local Authority will make the offers of places on their behalf as required by the School Admissions Code.