Admission to secondary school in September 2009

Frequently Asked Questions regarding admission to Secondary School

• When can my child start school?
• What types of schools are there?
• How do I find out more about schools?
• How to apply for a secondary school place
• Deciding on your preferences
• What will happen if you do not include your catchment-area school?
• When is the closing date for application forms?
• How were places offered in 2008?
• What do I do if I am refused a place?

Anchor Point:1When can my child start school?

Transfer from primary school to secondary school takes place in the September following a child's eleventh birthday.

In July parents of year 5 children in Solihull schools receive information about applying for a secondary school place. This is sent out by the child's primary school. If you are a parent of a child living in Solihull this will include an application form.

Anchor Point:2What types of schools are there?

Solihull has 10 community secondary schools, 1 academy, 2 voluntary-aided Catholic schools and a City Technology College. There are 2 independent schools which normally charge fees. There are no grammar schools in Solihull.

Anchor Point:3How do I find out more about schools?

Every school has its own prospectus giving you information about its:

• aims and values;
• methods of teaching and subjects taught;
• facilities;
• results in National Curriculum assessments;
• attendance figures; and
• admissions policy.

You can get prospectuses by contacting the relevant schools.

You can find out about examination results by visiting: http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/performancetables/

You can read a school's Ofsted report by visiting http://www.ofsted.gov.uk/reports/

For information on catchment areas phone the School Admissions Team on 0121 704 6693 or have a look at the catchment-area maps in Solihull Connect.

Anchor Point:4How to apply for a secondary school place

Every parent of a child living in Solihull fills in the Solihull secondary school application form.

• If you live in Solihull you can apply for a secondary school place on-line.
• If you live outside Solihull you must fill in your own council's application form, even if you are applying for a school in Solihull.
• You can name up to five schools that you would like your child to go to, and rank them in order of preference. The school you name first should be the one you would most like your child to go to. Do not include fee-paying schools on this form.
• You can include preferences for voluntary-aided schools, the Grace Academy, the City Technology College, grammar schools or schools in another council's area, we will pass the necessary information on to the relevant governing body or Admissions Team.
• If you applying for a grammar school or the City Technology College you will need to register for a test with the school.
• If you are applying for a voluntary-aided school you should check the admission criteria and send a copy of your child baptism certificate, if necessary.
• If any of your preferred schools receive more applications than there are places available, your application will be considered against the school's published admission criteria.
• We will offer you a place at the school you ranked the highest, as long as they have a place available.
• We will send offers out to everyone on the same day.

Anchor Point:5Deciding on your preferences

When considering which schools to include on your preference form, take account of the following.

• The published admission number - this is the number of places available in the school for its year 7 intake.

• The admission criteria - this is the criteria that will be used to decide who to offer places to if there are more applications than places available. If your child meets one of the highest criteria for each of your preferences (for example, you live in the catchment area or have a child already at the school), your chances of being offered a place are much higher. This is a summary of how offers were made for each school in 2008.

• The ranking - how you ranked your preferred schools will only be used if we can offer your child a place at more than one of the schools you listed. In this case we will offer the place at the school you ranked the highest.

Anchor Point:6What will happen if you do not include your catchment-area school?

If you do not include the school in your catchment area as one of your preferences, and we cannot offer you any of your chosen schools, you will be offered a place at the nearest appropriate school with a vacancy after all other applications have been offered. It may be that this offer will be for a school a long way from your home, and possibly in another council area.

Anchor Point:7When is the closing date for application forms?

This is the timetable for the secondary application process.

Anchor Point:8How were places offered in 2008?

Anchor Point:9What do I do if I am refused a place?

If your child is refused a place at a school you ranked higher than the one they have been offered a place at, you can appeal against the decision. You will receive details of how to make your appeal with your letter refusing the school place.

Your child's name will be added to the waiting list for all Solihull community and voluntary-aided schools ranked higher than the school your child has been offered a place at.