High school application deadlines…
Leeds City Council writes:
Is your child currently in Year 6? If so, it’s time to apply for a secondary school place!
If your child is due to start secondary school in September 2019 you should apply for a place from 01 August 2018. The deadline for applying is 31 October 2018.
You need to make your application online at www.leeds.gov.uk/secondaryschool
If you need any more information please contact the admissions team on 0113 222 4414.
Frequently asked questions
When can I apply for a place at High School Year 7?
The application process is available from 1 August 2018 to 31 October 2018.
How do I apply for a place?
You can apply online by going to www.leeds.gov.uk and searching for school admissions. If you need assistance with the application you can call us on 0113 2224414 or email us at education.annual.cycle@leeds.gov.uk. There is also a video on www.leeds.gov.uk which offers advice and guidance.
What are admissions policies?
Admissions policies set out how schools will offer places, and who will be offered a place first if there are more applications than places available at the school. The criteria set out in the admissions policy will be used to rank all applications and then places will be offered from the top of the list of applicants until the year group is full.
It is important that you look at the admissions policy for each of the schools you are including in your list of preferences as different schools have different admission policies. Admissions policies for all kinds of schools (Community, Foundation, Voluntary Aided and Academy schools) can be obtained from schools directly, found on the school website, on the Leeds City Council website at www.leeds.gov.uk/residents/Pages/Admissions.aspx, or by contacting the Admissions Team on 0113 2224414.
How are places offered?
The local authority is required to co-ordinate all applications for year 7 places. This means the Local Authority receive all applications centrally, work with schools who determine their own admissions to gather information from them, and send out all the offer letters, making sure each child only receives one offer.
We consider all preferences at the same time and aim to offer your highest preference possible, but whether we can offer you the place you want for your child will depend on your circumstances, the schools you have asked for and their policies, the number of applications they have received and the circumstances of all other applicants to that school.
I have good reasons why my child should attend my first preference school – so you have to offer them a place there don’t you?
Many parents have good reasons why they would prefer their child to attend a particular school, but while parents have the legal right to express their preference, this is not the same as free choice about where their child is admitted. School admissions policies provide very clear criteria about who can be prioritised over others for a place and you should review the policies to see whether your child meets any of these priority criteria. If they do, please tell us on your application so that the admissions policy can be applied to your application for each school correctly.
What is my priority school/catchment area?
One priority which many admission policies include is a priority for children requesting a place where they are living in the priority catchment area or where the school is their ‘nearest’ school. It’s important to look at the school policy as not all schools include this priority. You will receive a letter telling you which school is your catchment priority school.
Distance (measured in a straight line) is also often used as a tie break within each priority, so all children who meet the ‘catchment’ priority will also be ranked in order of distance from the school. There is no guarantee that you will be allocated a place at your priority catchment school if you request it – each year it depends on the number of children requesting the school who meet this priority.
It is important that you look at each school admission policy and all other available information before making a decision about your preferences as it is important to consider whether you have a realistic chance of being offered a place.
Does it matter what order I list my preferences?
Places are not offered on a ‘first preference first’ basis – it is against the School Admissions Code for this to happen. When schools are ranking their applications in line with their admissions policy, they don’t know which preference number you gave to that school.
Your preference order is only used by the Local Authority when they are making the offers on behalf of the school, and it only influences which offer is made where you could be offered more than one of your preferences.
The Local Authority is obliged to offer you the highest preference school which your child qualifies for so please put the schools in order of where you would like your child to attend.
If I only provide one preference, do you have to offer me that school?
No. Providing just one or two preferences does not in any way increase your chances of being offered a place at these schools as your application for each school is ranked in line with the admissions policy. If the Local Authority is unable to offer a preferred school, you will be offered a place at any school with a vacancy available after all other applications have been considered, so not using all five of the available preferences actually decreases the chances of you being offered a preferred place.
Can I find out which schools are closest to my home?
You can contact the Leeds City Council Admissions Team on 0113 2224414 or send an email to education.annual.cycle@leeds.gov.uk to ask for this information. Please remember to include your address when contacting us. Our measurements are based on a straight-line distance from the school to your address. Previous allocation maps for secondary schools are on the Leeds City Council website www.leeds.gov.uk/admissions. These show the distances from home to school for the people who were successful in gaining places last year so give an indication of your chances of being offered a place. Most online mapping tools only use postcodes and not the full address. If you want to know your nearest priority school you must ask us for details; you should also receive a letter in July which will give details of your priority school and your five nearest schools by distance but you don’t need this letter to apply.
What is the ‘furthest allocation distance’?
In the information provided on the Leeds City Council website, ‘furthest allocation distances’ are stated where this information is available.
Furthest allocation distances are the distance the last pupil allocated a place at a school under one of the distance priorities (in the Leeds City Council policy this is Priority 3 – Priority Catchment and Priority 4 – non-catchment) lived from the school.
Further details of allocation data can be found at: www.datamillnorth.org/dataset/secondary-school-allocations
When will I find out which school my child has been offered?
1 March 2019 is National Offer day. You will be sent an email on this day with your offer letter attached or if you did not apply online a letter will be sent out by second class post and you will receive it a few days after the 1 March.
What should do when I receive my offer of a place?
You should accept the offer of the school place directly with the school. Accepting a lower preference offer will not affect your position on a waiting list or your right to appeal against the refusal at any other school.
What happens if I don’t get offered a place at the school I want?
If you don’t get offered a place at the school you would prefer, you can request to go on the waiting list. You can also appeal against the decision to refuse a place at a school, although appeals can only be granted in specific circumstances. More information will be provided with your offer letter.
What happens if I move into the area or change address?
If you move into the area or change address between the closing date in October 2018 and the start of the new school year in September 2019, you must let us know as this could affect your application. We will try our best to offer your child a place at the school you prefer. If there are no places left at any of the schools you wanted, we will offer your child a place at the school closest to your home with available places. Remember that we will find your closest school by measuring in a straight line. If you move to a new address, we will ask you to provide written proof of your new address and written proof that you have left your previous address.
Useful numbers and contacts
Leeds City Council website: http://www.leeds.gov.uk/residents/Pages/Admissions.aspx
Admissions team: phone 0113 222 4414 email education.annual.cycle@leeds.gov.uk.
Transport: Application forms, guidance notes, Leeds Children’s Transport policy, Under-16 Photocards and information about bus travel can be obtained at: www.metro.com/schools. If you need information on your ‘Nearest Qualifying School’ or have other general school transport questions please contact the Leeds Education Transport Assessment Team on 0113 348 1122 or educationcustomerservices@westyorks-ca.gov.uk.
Elective Home Education: phone 0113 378 5028.
Attendance Team: phone 0113 378 2480.
School meals: To apply for free school meals please contact 0113 222 4404.
School uniforms and other expenses parents should contact the school their child will be attending for information about help with school uniforms.
Special Educational Needs Information: For children with an existing Education Health and Care Plan (EHC) parents should contact their SEN casework officer phone 0113 378 5256. For general information, support and advice about SEN and disabilities contact the Leeds Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) Service phone 0113 378 5020.
Living and Learning: I greet someone politely
We’ve been thinking about manners and what they are.
We agreed that saying ‘please‘ and ‘thank you‘ were fantastic examples of good manners and how to be polite.
So this week, we’ll be trying to be polite by greeting people at different times of the day and asking how they are.
We will also try to ‘bounce’ a question back to be even more polite e.g.
Mr Mills: Good morning, Cohen. How are you today?
Cohen: I’m fine, thanks. How are you?
Mr Mills: I’m great. Thank you for asking.
Foundation’s Got Talent!!!
Take a look at this bunch of talented stars!!!
Have a lovely Summer holiday everyone- see you on the 4th September!
Y6 Meal
Last night, Year 6 went out for dinner at Saint Angelo’s to celebrate the end of their time at St James’. Thank you for a lovely evening.
Living and Learning: I can reflect and look ahead.
“Today’s the day, the teddy bears have their picnic!…”
Wow! What a lovely day meeting all of your fluffy friends!
We have enjoyed making teddy biscuits this morning, before donning our teddy bear crowns (made earlier in the week) and taking our pals outside for a lovely picnic and extended play time.
Some of the children told us it was their “best day ever!”
What a lovely celebration for our last few days of the school year 🙂
Living and Learning: I cope with change
Roundhay Park and Tropical World
F2 have had a fabulous day out at the park and Tropical World.
We did leaf collecting and rubbing, played in the play park, had circle games and songs, a picnic and parachute games. We then walked to Tropical World for our tour.
We finished off the day with goodie bags and ice- lollies!!!
Ask your child what their favourite part of the day has been.
What facts can they remember, about the different tropical species they have seen today?
Perfect Pizza!
Today, Foundation made some yummy and importantly healthy wrap pizzas, as part of Staying Healthy Week.
We discussed how our ingredients are good for our bodies, practised the hygiene routines that must take place before and after preparing food and had a go at safely chopping and grating. We then chose which healthy toppings to add to our pizza.
We enjoyed our delicious pizza creations at snack time. Many children tried vegetables they were not sure they liked, which was great to see.
Foundation gave their cooking a big thumbs up!
Can your child help you at home to recreate a wrap pizza or another healthy meal? Take a picture and let us know if they do!
Healthy Cooking
It’s health week, so we decided to cook and eat lots of vegetables. We made a delicious stir-fry with onions, beansprouts, peas, courgettes, cabbage and much more.
“It tasted gorgeous; I had sticky plum sauce with it.”
“I thought I didn’t like the sauce but when I tasted it, it tasted really nice.”
