Admission Arrangements – Uppingham Community College: September 2023

The College is its own admissions authority and as such is responsible for setting the criteria for admission and their interpretation; at all times however it will act in accordance with the School Admissions Code published by the Department for Education.

All parents wishing to apply for a place at the College should do so via their 'home' authority (i.e. the authority where they live). Parents have a right to express a preference for the school they want for their child.  Application forms can be obtained from the College and the home authority. Application forms must be returned to the home authority by the specified date, which is published annually.  The Published Admission Number (PAN) for the College is 180 per year.

School Admission and EHC plan 
Children and young people with EHC plans should NOT have their placements determined through the general schools’ admissions process – even where they are seeking a mainstream placement. The Local Authority responsible for the EHC plan must review and amend the EHC plan by the statutory deadline. The review must take place when a child is within 12 months of a transfer between phases of education. 

Transport
Parents should contact their Local Authority to check if free transport is available from their home address.

Oversubscription Criteria

Where the number of applications for places exceeds the number of places available, as specified by the Published Admission Number, oversubscription criteria will be applied, in priority order, to determine those children to be admitted. Within each criterion students will be ranked by distance from their place of residence to the main entrance of the College:

1. Looked after children and children who were previously looked after but immediately after being looked after became subject to adoption, a child arrangement order, or special guardianship order.¹  Children who appear to have been in state care outside of England and ceased to be in state care as a result of being adopted.²
2. Those with a sibling³ attending the College.  The sibling must be on roll at the College at the time of the proposed admission of the applicant to the College.
3. Those attending the following primary schools or living in one of our catchment villages (please see appendix 1)

Bringhurst Primary, Billesdon C of E, Church Langton C of E, Cottingham C of E, Edith Weston Academy, Gretton Primary Academy, Hallaton CofE, Leighfield Academy, St Mary & St John CofE: North Luffenham, Tugby CofE, and Uppingham CofE.

4. A child of a member of staff at the College, where the member of staff has been employed at the College for two or more years at the time when the application is made or is recruited to fill a vacant post where there is a demonstrable skill shortage.
5. Those that have proven grounds based on the location of their place of residence, in order of distance from the College.  If measurement of distance becomes necessary, the calculation will be based on the shortest driving or walking route from the boundary of the home address² to the main entrance of the College.  Only those footpaths recognised by the Ordnance Survey will be allowed.

The decision of the Admissions Committee will be notified to parents in March in the year of initial entry.  Applications for school places outside the normal admissions round (in-year admissions, refer to ‘In-Year Admissions’ paragraph on page 2, for more details) will comply with sections 2.23-2.31 of the Admissions Code.

Definitions

¹ 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. A child is regarded as having been in state care in a place outside of England if they were accommodated by a public authority, a religious organisation or any other provider of care whose sole purpose is to benefit society.

³ A sibling is defined as a child of the family sharing a parent by birth or adoption and living at the same address at the time of the proposed admission.

Home address is defined as the address of the parent or carer with whom the child spends the majority of time as a child of a family during term-time and proof of the home address should be in the form of a utility bill.

The College will only allocate places in advance of a family moving into the area where suitable confirmation, such as proof of property purchase (i.e. exchange of contract), a letting agreement, or a letter from an employer has been received.

Late Applications

In the event of the College being oversubscribed, applications received after the published closing date will be placed on the waiting list unless circumstances prevented an application being made at the appropriate time. Circumstances that may be considered under this heading would include, but not be confined to, a lone parent’s illness during the application process, a family moving into the area or a family returning from abroad.

Waiting List

In the event of oversubscription, the College holds a waiting list for places which may become available.

Children who are the subject of a direction by the LA must take precedence over those on the waiting list in accordance with the Fair Access Protocol.                   

All applications declined through the oversubscription process will be given the opportunity to be placed on the waiting list which will be maintained for the first term of the year.   Being placed on the waiting list does not remove an applicant’s right to appeal.  

It is important to note that the list does not operate on a “first come, first served” basis and that places will be offered according to the oversubscription criteria if they become available.

In-Year Admissions

Parents who wish to apply for a place outside the normal admissions round should do so by contacting the College directly.  On receipt of an in-year application, the College will notify Rutland Local Authority of the application and its outcome.

Right to Appeal

In the case where an application is declined due to oversubscription, all parents have the right to an independent appeal against the decision made. More details can be obtained from the College.

Year 7 UCC Appeals Timetable:  September 2023 Entry:  (Please note dates TBC)

01 March 2023	National Offer Day
from 27 March 2023	Second round of offers (including late applications)
29 March 2023	Deadline for lodging appeal (20 school days from offer day)
10 May 2023	Late applications – appeal to be lodged by (20 school days from second offer round):
8 / 9 June 2023	UCC Appeal dates
19 June 2023	Appeal to be heard by (40 school days from deadline to lodge appeal):
12 July 2023	Late applications – appeal to be heard by (40 school days from deadline to lodge late appeal):

Children of UK Service Personnel

Children of UK Service Personnel posted to the area may be allocated a place in advance of a move to the area once proof of the posting is provided [eg an official government letter from MOD, FCO or GCHQ]. This should include a relocation date and an intended address.  The Unit postal address or quartering area address will be used for consideration against the oversubscription criteria.

Appendix 1

Catchment Villages for Uppingham Community College.

Allexton	Goadby	Pilton
Ayston	Great Easton	Preston
Barrowden	Gretton	Riddlington
Belton in Rutland	Gunthorpe	Rockingham
Billesdon	Hallaton	Rolleston
Billesdon Coplow	Halstead	Seaton
Bisbrooke	Harringworth	Shangton
Blaston	Horninghold	Skeffington
Bringhurst	Illston on the Hill	Slawston
Caldecott	Kings Norton	South Luffenham
Carlton Curlieu	Loddington	Stoke Dry
Church Langton	Lowesby	Stockerston
Cottingham	Lyddington	Thorpe by Water
Cranoe	Lyndon	Thorpe Langton
Drayton	Manton	Tilton on the Hill
East Carlton	Marefield	Tugby
East Langton	Medbourne	Tur Langton
East Norton	Middleton	Uppingham
Edith Weston	Morcott	Wakerley
Frisby	Neville Holt	Wardley
Gaulby	New Inn	Welham
Glaston	Normanton	West Langton
Glooston	North Luffenham	Wing