11+ Admission  for Carre’s Grammar School

Carre’s Grammar School is a selective academy and the Governing Body is an Admission Authority in its own right. The Governing Body determines all decisions about admissions, including this policy, although arrangements for applications for places in Year 7 will be made in accordance with Lincolnshire County Council's co-ordinated admission arrangements. 

Parents resident in Lincolnshire can apply online at www.lincolnshire.gov.uk/schooladmissions, they can also apply by telephone, or ask for a hard copy application form by telephoning 01522 782030. 

Carre’s Grammar School cannot take account of your order of preference. This information is held by the School Admissions Team at Lincolnshire County Council and is used to identify the place to be offered when more than one school can make an offer of a place. If this happens, Lincolnshire County Council offers the highest preference possible. 

Parents resident in other areas must apply through their home Local Authority. Carre’s 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. 

Students seeking admission to Carre’s Grammar School in Year 7 must firstly have qualified under the school’s selection arrangements by attaining a score of at least the school’s agreed minimum standard in the 11+ selection tests. These are set and standardised by GL Assessment on behalf of the Lincolnshire Consortium of Grammar Schools. 

Sitting the 11+ test at Carre’s Grammar School, at one of its feeder primary schools or at any other venue, does not constitute an application for admission. 

There are rights to appeal against non-qualification but exceptional circumstances are required for the independent appeal committee to consider. 

The arrangements for making such an appeal are outlined in the offer letter sent to parents from the Local Authority. The Admission Authority expects appeals to be made by parents within 20 school days after the refusal of a place. 

The school’s Published Admission Number is 120 students. 

Qualification does not in itself guarantee admission to the school. The governors must, by law, consider all parents who have sent in a common application form naming the school. In the event of the school being oversubscribed with applicants who have reached the required standard, places will be allocated in accordance with the following criteria in the order stated. 

In accordance with legislation, the allocation of places for children with an Education, Health and Care Plan (Children and Families Act 2014) will take place first. 

Remaining places will be allocated in accordance with this policy. 

1. The child is, or has been in the past, in the care of the Local Authority (a looked after or previously looked after child). 

2. The child is registered for Pupil Premium, that is those registered for Free School Meals at any point in the previous six years (not including Key Stage 1 statutory Free School Meals). 

3. Students who, at the time of admission, have siblings at one of the schools within the Robert Carre Trust.

4. Students who have attended from the start of Year 6 one of the eighteen named partner primary schools. 

5. Students living closest to the school.  

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. 

Reserve List 

For admission into the intake year the governors will keep a waiting list which is called a reserve list. In this school we will only add to the reserve list children who have achieved the required standard in the selection tests. If we have to refuse a place at our school a qualified child is automatically put on the reserve list, unless a higher preference school has offered a place. 

This list is in the order of the oversubscription criteria, as required by the School Admissions Code. This means that names can move down the list if someone moves into the area and is higher placed under the oversubscription criteria. The governors must not take account of the time on the list. 

For the intake year the list is kept by the Schools Admission Team until the end of August. After this the School Admissions Code requires that schools keep the reserve list until the end of the autumn term. 

Admission of students at other times 

Students may be admitted at times other than at 11+ and 16+ provided their admission does not prejudice the provision of efficient education and use of resources. Students must demonstrate that they would benefit from selective education through the school’s in-year admission selection process. 

The school will assess an applicant for his/her academic ability and potential, using a Cognitive Ability Test (CAT). The assessment will evidence whether the candidate’s ability falls within the top 25% of the ability range in the academic year. 

If there are no places available, the candidate’s name will be placed on a confidential reserve list, ranked according to admissions criteria for entry to Year 7. Parents may appeal to an independent panel against a decision not to admit. 

Carre’s Grammar School has an independent appeal system which is entirely separate from the admission system. Appeals are held in accordance with legislation and the School Admission Appeals Code. You can only appeal for a school place once in a school year unless there is a major change in circumstances, and the decision of the independent appeal panel is binding on all parties. 

Details of how to apply for an in-year test or how to appeal are available from the Executive Headteacher’s PA. 

Children of UK service personnel (UK Armed Forces) posted to the area or Crown Servants returning from overseas For families of service personnel with a confirmed posting to the area, or Crown Servants returning to live in the area from overseas, the governors 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 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. The governors will not refuse a service child a place because the family does not currently live in the area. 

CGS Admissions Policy 2020-21 adopted 13 November 2018 

It may be that we still cannot admit because of organisational or curriculum difficulties within the school, in which case the appeals process may have to be followed. 

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. 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. 

Carre’s Grammar 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 Headteacher. 

Fair Access 

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. 

For admission to this school the child must meet the required admission standard. Important note 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 a false address was given which denied a place to a child with a stronger claim. 

We reserve the right to check any address and other information provided so we can apply the oversubscription criteria accurately and fairly. 

This policy has been drawn up by the Admission Authority of Carre’s Grammar School. It was determined at the meeting of the Local Governing Body on 13 November 2018 after full consultation in accordance with the School Admissions Code. CGS Admissions Policy 2020-21 adopted 13 November 2018 

Admissions Policy – Standard Definitions 

A looked after child or previously looked after child 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). 

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. 

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 Children’s Act 2002 (see section 46 adoption orders). Child arrangements orders are defined in s.8 of the Children Act 1989, as amended by s.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. 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). 

Pupil Premium 

The school will write to the parents of all children who have passed the 11+ tests, asking them to inform the school if their child has been in receipt of Free School Meals within the previous six years (not including Key Stage 1 statutory Free School Meals). We will also ask for permission to carry out the necessary work to verify this. 

Sibling 

The definition of sibling is ‘a full brother or sister, whether or not living in the same household. Another child normally living for the majority of the term time in the same household, for whom an adult in the household has parental responsibility as defined in the Children Act 1989 or Section 576 of the Education Act 1996’. In the case of twins or siblings in the same cohort and where there is only one place available in the school, both will be considered together provided they are qualified. 

Named partner primary schools 

The eighteen named partner primary schools associated with Carre's Grammar School through Sports and Science outreach work are: Ancaster Church of England Primary School, Caythorpe Primary School, Cranwell Primary School, Heckington Church of England Primary School, Helpringham Primary School, Kirkby La Thorpe Church of England Primary School, Leadenham Church of England Primary School, Leasingham St Andrew’s Church of England Primary School, Metheringham Primary School, Navenby Church of England Primary School, Rauceby Church of England Primary School, Ruskington Chestnut Street Church of England Primary School, Ruskington Winchelsea Primary School, Sleaford Church Lane Primary School, Sleaford Our Lady of Good Counsel Catholic Primary School, Sleaford St Botolph’s Church of England Primary School, Sleaford The William Alvey Church of England School and The Welbourn Church of England Primary School. 

Distance from school 

This will be as calculated electronically to three figures after the decimal point (eg 1.543 miles) by Lincolnshire Council School Admissions Team as a straight line distance from the Post Office Address Point of the home to the Post Office Address Point of the school. 

The home address is where the child lives for the majority of the school term time with a parent who has parental responsibility as defined in 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. 

Where a child lives at different addresses through shared custody arrangements, the address will be where the child spends the greater amount of time during the school term. 

If you can show that your child spends an equal amount of time at both addresses during school term time, you can choose which address you would like to use on your application