ADMISSIONSPOLICY

This policy will be reviewed regularly as part of our school and trust annual policy review programme.

ADMISSIONSPOLICY

1. INTRODUCTION&CONTEXT

GreatSankeyHighSchoolandBarrowHallCollege(BHC)seekstooffertoitsYear11andwidercommunitystudentstheopportunitytobepartofalearningenvironmentinwhichtheyfeelwelcomed,secureandvaluedasindividualsandaspartofthecollegecommunity.WewanttoensurethatallstudentsreceiveacollegeeducationwhichmaximisesopportunitiesforalltofulfiltheirtruepotentialbymatchingaspirationtothecoursesandentryrequirementsBHChastooffer.

2. AIMS

• Torecruitsufficientstudentstomeetthetargetnumber• Toensure thatentrance requirements forcollegecoursesareclear tostudentand

parent/carer• To be clear about the application process, oversubscription criteria and appeals

process• Toguideeachstudentonthemostappropriatecourseforhisorherindividualneeds• Toensureasmoothtransitionintothecollegeforeachindividualstudent• Toensuresmoothtransitionfromyear12intoyear13

3. OBJECTIVES• Toprovide information toprospectivestudents, toenable themtomake informed

choices• Tooffertheopportunitytoprospectivestudentsandtheirparentstovisitthecollege,

talktostaffandstudents• Tooffer impartial guidance to studentsabout theentry requirements,progression

opportunitiesandotherimplicationsoftheirchoiceofcourse• Tomake reasonable adjustments to ensure that studentswith learning difficulties

and/ordisabilitiesareabletoaccessBarrowHallCollege• Toprovideaplannedinductionprogrammefornewstudents• Tomanagetheadmissionsprocesstoachievethecollege’stargetnumberofstudents• To ensure that all documentation and practice complies with the college’s Single

EqualitySchemeandEqualOpportunitiespolicyandtheDisabilityDiscriminationAct(part4).

4. Entryrequirements

BarrowHallCollegewelcomesstudentsintoYears12and13fromGreatSankeyHighSchoolandschoolsinthewidercommunity.

Therearedifferentpathwaysavailableforstudy.TheentryrequirementsforeachoftheseprogrammesofstudyaredetailedinourprospectuswhichwillbeavailablefromSeptember.Offersmadeareprovisionalonstudentsattainingtheentryrequirements,viabilityofcoursebasedonnumbers,andsubjecttoavailabilityofplacesontheappropriatepathway,courseandclass.Forfurtherdetails,pleaseseeourcurrentprospectus.

4.1TransferfromYear11

EntrytoLevel3programmeswillbedeterminedbyaverageGCSEscoresfromtheresultsachievedinastudent’sbesteightsubjectsatGCSEorequivalent.TostudyonourAcademicpathway of 3 or 4 A levels studentswill need an average GCSE grade of 4 (C) or above.Studentsshouldalsohaveagrade4oraboveinEnglishLanguageorEnglishLiterature.TojoinourVocationalPathwayormixedpathwaystudentswillneedaGCSEaverageof3.75.Somecourseswillrequireanaverageof4.5and/orhighergradesinparticularGCSEsubjects.

Tocalculatestudentsaveragescoreweuseonlytheirbest8GCSEresults.Thesebest8canincludeuptotwovocationalqualifications.Thefollowingtableisusedtoadduptotalpointsandthisnumberisthendividedbythenumberofsubjects.WewilltakeintoaccountothercoursesaspartoftheapplicationprocessbutthesedonotcontributetotheaverageGCSEpointsscore.

NewGCSEGrade OldGCSEGrade VocationalGrade9=9

8=8 A*=8 DistinctionStar8

7=7 A=7 Distinction86=6 B=6 Merit55=5 C=4 Pass24=4 D=33=3 E=22=2 F=11=1 G=1

OurentrycriteriaisaimedtosupportallstudentsastheymaketheirchoicesforPost16Studyandispublishedasguidanceonly.Duringtheapplicationandregistrationprocesstherewillbe plenty of opportunities to discuss variations to this guidance if there are individualexceptionalcircumstancesthatneedtobetakenintoaccount.

GCSEEnglishandMathsResitIfyouachievetherequiredGCSEaveragetojoinourcollegebuthavenotachievedthisinGCSEEnglishand/orMathsthenstudentswillberequiredtoworktoimproveyourEnglishand/orMathswhilstfollowingyourlevel3programmeatBHC.

Studentswillhavetohaveachieved5xD-EgradesatGCSEmaybeabletoaccessLevel2BTECcourses,dependantonviabilitybasedonstudentnumbers.ThedecisionaboutwhichofthesecoursesstudentswillpursuewillbebasedontheirpreviousGCSEachievementinthesesubjects.Thecollegereservestherighttorefuseaccesstolevel3courses, in particular A level courseswhere the college does not find the course choicessuitableforthestudentinvolved.4.2FullTimeStudyStudentsareonlyeligibletostudyatBarrowHallCollegeiftheyareonafull-timecourse.Afull-timecoursecomprisesofaminimumofthreeA/BTECLevel3courses.StudentsfollowingthesecourseswhohavenotachievedaminimumofagradeC inGCSEEnglishLanguageand/orMathematicswillberequiredtoattendeitherre-sitclassesinthesesubjectsleadingtotheGCSEexamination,oraliteracyandnumeracydevelopmentcourse.5.ApplicationProcessAllstudentsmustcompleteanonlineapplicationformandwillneedtotakepartinseveralinformaldiscussionstoensurethatoptionschosenaresuitabletotheirfuturecareers.5.1AssessmentofSuitabilityBarrowHallCollegetutorswillassesssuitabilityforthechosencoursesbasedon:

• Informalinterviewsandimpartialadviceandguidance• Mockexamresults• OTF–ontrackforgrades• FormTutorandHeadofHousereference• SchoolreferenceforthosestudentswhoareapplyingandnotcurrentlyinYear11at

GreatSankeyHighSchoolTheseinformaldiscussionswillbefollowedbyaformalinterviewafterGCSEresultshavebeenissued.Timetablingwill takeplaceduringtheSpringTermandconfirmationofconditionaloffers and subject choiceswill be sent to students. Studentswill be required to formallyaccept a place in the College within 2 weeks of receipt of the offer unless exceptionalcircumstancesoccur.As it is impossible to gauge demand for particular subjects, a student’s combination ofcoursescannotbeconfirmeduntiltheyhavesuccessfullycompletedtheenrolmentprocessinSeptemberoftheyearofadmission.

5.2ApplicationsfromstudentsfromotherschoolsStudentsattendingotherschoolsinYear11areabletoapplyforplacesinYear12atBarrowHallCollege.Allapplicantswishingtojointheschoolforthefirsttimeinyear12aresubjectto the same entry qualifications and requirements as those set out above for existingstudents.InadditiontotheentryrequirementswecanonlyofferaplaceatBHCifwereceiveasuitablereferencefromthestudent’sschool.TheGoverningBodyoftheschoolwill,undersection324oftheEducationAct1996,admittotheschoolayoungpersonwithastatementofspecialneedsthatnamestheschool.Thisisnotanoversubscriptioncriterion.Thisrelatesonly to young people who have undergone statutory assessment and for whom a finalstatement of special educational needs (SEN) has been issued, please note this may bereferredtoasaneducationhealthcareplaninfuture,andwhichhastakenaccountoftheyear12 entry requirements. If, following the admission of young peoplewhere the school isnamedinthestatementofspecialeducationalneeds(SEN),thenumberofapplicationstojointheschoolforthefirsttimeexceedsthepublishedadmissionnumberandfurtherplacescannotbeprovided,thenthefollowingoversubscriptioncriteriawillapply:5.3OrderofPriorityPriorityGroup1:YoungpeopleinPublicCareforwhomanapplicationhasbeensubmitted.Thisappliestoalllooked-afteryoungpeople,includingthosewhoareinthecareofanotherlocalauthority.PriorityGroup2:YoungpeoplewhowillhaveasiblingontheschoolrollinSeptember2018.Siblingreferstobrotherorsister,halfbrotherorsister,adoptedbrotherorsister,stepbrotherorsister,orthechildoftheparent/carer’spartnerwherethechildforwhomtheschoolplaceissoughtislivinginBarrowHallCollege’sprocedureiscompliantwiththeSchoolAdmissionsCodeparagraph1.37page25whichstates‘Schoolsmustnotinterviewchildrenortheirfamiliesforentrytoyear12,althoughmeetingscanbeheldtoprovideadviceonoptionsandentryrequirementsforparticular courses. Entry must not be dependent on attendance, behaviour record, orperceptionsofattitudeormotivation.Anyapplicantrefusedaplaceinyear12isentitledtomakeanappealtoanindependentappealpanel,whetherthechildisalreadyattendingtheschoolorisanexternalcandidate.’5.4AppealsApplicants or their parents/carerswho are unsuccessful in gaining a place at BarrowHallCollegemayappealtoanIndependentAppealsPanel.Applicantsorparents/carerswishingtodothisshouldcontact inwritingtheClerktotheGoverningBodyofGreatSankeyHighSchoolwithinfourteendaysofreceiptofnotification.

TheIndependentAppealPanel’sproceduresare inaccordancewiththeSchoolsStandardsandFrameworkAct1998,asamendedbytheEducationAct2002andtheSchoolsAppealsCodeofPractice.Applicantsandtheirparents/carersmayattendthehearingoftheirappealandmaketheircasetothepanel.Asappealscannotbedecidedprovisionally,itislikelythatanyappealfortheCollegewillnotbehearduntilthestartoftheautumnterm,assoonaspossibleafterthepublicationofGCSEresultsinAugust.

5.5WaitingListsIf we cannot make you an offer in the initial round in March because we have moreapplicationsthanavailableplacesatBarrowHallCollege,wewouldencourageyoutorequestthatweplaceyournameonthewaitinglist.Thiswaitinglistishelduntil30September2019.ExperiencehasshownthatitislikelythatfurtherplacescanbeofferedafterAprilofYear11.ConsiderablemovementinthewaitinglististobeexpectedbetweentheinitialofferdateandthepublicationofGCSEresultsinAugust,assomeapplicantswillholdoffersfrommorethanone college. If places do become available after April, the waiting list, including lateapplicants,willberankedstrictlyinaccordancewiththepublishedOversubscriptionCriteriaandtheapplicantwhorankshighestatthattimewillbeofferedaplacesubjecttoavailabilityintheagreedpathwayandcourses.6.ChangingcoursesatBarrowHallCollegeWhilst Barrow Hall College aims to be as flexible as possible in order to accommodatestudents’ aspirations, it is important to appreciate that changing courses result inmissedlearningand isdisruptive to teaching.Consequently,weaim tokeepcoursechanges toaminimum.6.1ChangesmadebeforeOctoberhalftermAspartofthecollegesassessment,reportingandrecordingprocedure,asubjectsuitabilityscoreforeachofthestudent’ssubjectsisobtainedfromteachingstaffduringthefirstweekinOctober.ThissuitabilityscorewillbediscussedattheYear12ReviewDaythefollowingweekandanyearlydecisionsoncoursechangescanbemadewithconsultationwiththetutorandcollegeleadershipteam.Coursescanonlybechangedif:

• a student is strongly recommended to change by a department because they areexpectedtobeunsuccessfulinthatsubjectandthenewsubjectleaderconsidersthestudentsuitableforthecourse

• Itbecomesevidentthatthereisaseriousmismatchbetweenastudent’scoursechoiceand their career aspirations. Course changes in these circumstances can only beagreedinmeetingswiththestudent’sparent/sorcarer.

6.2ChangesmadetocoursesafterOctoberhalfterm

Any changes made to a study programme after October half-term should be kept to aminimumand can only be changed if the programmeof study still allows the student toachievetheiroverallcoreacademicorvocationalaimi.e.

• ifastudentstartson2AlevelcoursestheircoreaimisacademicandanychangesaresubjecttothecompletionofatleastoneAlevelcourse.

• Ifastudentstartson2BTECcourses,theircoreaimisvocationalandanychangesaresubjecttothecompletionofatleastoneBTECcourse.

Coursechangesareat thediscretionof thecollege leadership teamwhowill consultwithteachingstaffinvolved.Itmustbepossibleforthestudenttocatchuponmissedcontentandthereforethelateracoursechangeismade,thelesslikelyauthorisationwillbegiven.7.InductionPeriodStudents entering Barrow Hall College are not considered to be on-roll until they havecompletedaninductionperiodatthestartofthefirstterm.Thisistoensurethatstudentsareonsuitablecoursesandthattheirapproachsuggeststhattheywillbesuccessful.BoththeCollegeandthestudentcanterminatetheirCollegecontractatanytimeduringthisperiod.Afterthisperiod,parent/carerwillbeaskedtoattendmeetingsregardingthefutureofthestudentattheCollege8.ProgressiontoYear13Students year 12 performancewill be reviewed throughout the academic year andmockexaminations will be sat in the summer term. As students do not sit formal externalexaminationsinyear12,progressionconversationswillbebasedonperformanceindicatorssuchasattendance,mockexaminations,levelsofinterventionandcommitmenttocourses.Thisinformationwillbeusedtoprovidestudentsandparentswiththefollowingadvice:

• Workingatgradesineachsubjectarea• Ontrackfor/predictedgradesfortheoverallALevelcourse• Adviceandguidanceastowhethercontinuationintoyear13isadvisableor:

o Ayear12restartisrecommendedonthesameoradifferentprogrammeofstudy

o Analternativerouteisrecommendede.g.apprenticeshipStudents transferring into the College fromother institutionswill be subject to the usualcriteriafor‘external’studentsdetailedbelow.TheywillalsoneedtodiscusswiththeCollegeteamwhether the syllabus and the structureof their previous coursehasprepared themappropriatelyforALevelstudyatBarrowHallCollegeSigned………………………………..Date…………………………ChairofGovernors