Determined Admission Arrangements 2024/2025

Published Admission Limit (PAN): 310

These arrangements are in line with government legislation and guidance (School Admissions Code 2021) and are designed to ensure there is a fair, clear and reasonable admissions procedure for all applicants and to help guide parents through the application process.  These arrangements apply to all admissions, including in-year admissions. Students wishing to apply mid-year for a selective place may do so, if any remain unfilled. As part of the application process, they would be expected to undertake a set of CSSE papers prepared and marked by Shoeburyness High School staff, if not having already sat the test in Year 6. Those with scores over 303 will be admitted once a place becomes available.

Criteria are set out below and apply to all year groups for the year 2024/25

If at the closing date for applications there are not enough places for all those who have expressed a wish to have their child admitted to a community school, places will be allocated using the admission criteria as set out below. This will not apply to children with a statement of Special Educational Needs (SEN) or Education, Health and Care (EHC) plans as the plan/statement names the school and therefore the child must be admitted to the named school. The admission criteria are listed below by the school with explanatory notes following:

1. Looked After Children and previously Looked After Children
2. Up to 28 students granted preferential admission on the basis of their performance in the selection test procedure organised by the Consortium of Selective Schools in Essex (those with scores of 303 and above) and whose normal place of residence lies within the priority area (see map below)
3. If any selective places remain unfilled, the Governors should consider whether any of the remaining applicants who took the selection tests are eligible to be awarded a borderline selective place (scores of 295 to 303) and whose normal place of residence lies within the priority area (see map below)
4. Students who live in the catchment area who have a sibling attending the school 
5. Students who live in the catchment area 
6. Students who live outside the catchment area who have a sibling attending the school
7. Students who are attending year 6 at the following feeder primary schools: Bournes Green Junior; Friars Primary; Hinguar Primary; Richmond Avenue Primary; St George’s Catholic Primary and Thorpedene Primary; and
8. Students who live outside the catchment area

(For all criteria, catchment area map and additional information please see explanatory notes and catchment map below)

Criteria are set out below and apply to all year groups for the year 2025/26

If at the closing date for applications there are not enough places for all those who have expressed a wish to have their child admitted to a community school, places will be allocated using the admission criteria as set out below. This will not apply to children with a statement of Special Educational Needs (SEN) or Education, Health and Care (EHC) plans as the plan/statement names the school and therefore the child must be admitted to the named school. The admission criteria are listed below by the school with explanatory notes following:

1. Looked After Children and previously Looked After Children
2. Up to 28 pupils granted preferential admission on the basis of their performance in the selection test procedure organised by the Consortium of Selective Schools in Essex (those with scores of 303 and above) and whose normal place of residence lies within the priority area (see map below)
3. If any selective places remain unfilled, the Governors should consider whether any of the remaining applicants who took the selection tests are eligible to be awarded a borderline selective place (scores of 295 to 303) and whose normal place of residence lies within the priority area (see map below)
4. Pupils who live in the catchment area who have a sibling attending the school 
5. Pupils who live in the catchment area 
6. Pupils who live outside the catchment area who have a sibling attending the school
7. Pupils of Staff
8. Pupils who are attending year 6 at the following feeder primary schools: Bournes Green Junior; Friars Primary; Hinguar Primary; Richmond Avenue Primary; St George’s Catholic Primary and Thorpedene Primary; and
9. Pupils who live outside the catchment area

(For all criteria, catchment area map and additional information please see explanatory notes and catchment map below)

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. A child is regarded as having been in state care outside of England if they were in the care of or were accommodated by a public authority, a religious organisation, or any other provider of care whose sole or main purpose is to benefit society. 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 Act 2002 (see Section 46 adoption orders). Child arrangements orders are defined in Section 8 of the Children Act 1989, as amended by Section 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. Refer to section 14A of the Children Act 1989 which defines a ‘special Guardianship order’ as an order appointing one or more individuals to be a child’s special guardian (or special guardians).

An Education, Health and Care Plan is a plan made by the Local Authority under Section 37 of the Children and Families Act 2014 specifying the special education, health and social care provision required for that child. All children whose statement of special educational needs (SEND) or Education, Health and Care (EHC) plan names the school must be admitted. Children with a statement or a plan will follow a different process for admission.  Further information can be found on:

Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND)

Local Offer

All selective places (scores of 303 and above in the 11+ examination) and borderline selective places (scores of between 295 and 302.99 in the 11+ examination) are allocated with preference given to those students with the highest scores, in order of merit and whose normal place of residence lies within the priority area (see map below).

In the case of over subscription in any one category, a “straight line” distance will be used to measure the distance between the student’s home and the nearest student entrance to the school. Distances will be measured using the Local Authority’s computerised measuring system. The students living closest will be given priority. If the student’s home is a flat the distance will be measured to the main external entrance to the building.

If the same distance is shared by more than one student, and only one place is available, the place will be awarded on the basis of a computerised random allocation process (supervised by someone independent of the governing body).

The distance is measured the same for all applications.  Only one application per child can be received. The Local Authority should not have details of both parents or know of the marital status of the parents.  If more than one application is received from parents, applications will be placed on hold until such time that:

• An application is made that both parents agree to; or
• Written agreement is provided from both parents; or
• A court order is obtained confirming which parent’s application takes precedence.

If the child lives at more than one address, it is the address where the child lives for the majority of the school week that will apply. Details on address checks and verifications by the council can be found in the admission booklets on the Council’s website.

Students will automatically be placed on the waiting list for the school if they have been refused a place for the main round to year 7.

In accordance with the School Admissions Code, if the school is over-subscribed any application received after the identified closing date will be slotted into the waiting list in the appropriate position (ranked according to the school’s admission criteria) once the initial offers have been made.

Each child subsequently added to the waiting list will require the list to be ranked again in line with the published oversubscription criteria. This applies to waiting lists for all year groups.

Waiting lists for all year groups are closed at the end of each school year. If you would like your child to remain on the waiting list for the following academic year, you will need to reapply by submitting a new in-year secondary school transfer application form (which can be downloaded from this website or collected from the school reception) to: office@shoeburyness.secat.co.uk

Parents/carers also have the opportunity to appeal against the decision to refuse admission of a child.  Please see Appeals Process section for details of how to lodge an appeal.

Siblings are considered to be a brother or sister, half-brother or half-sister, step-brother or step-sister, adopted brother or sister, living at the same address, who attends the school at the time of application with a reasonable expectation that he or she will still be attending at the time of the proposed admission.

In the exceptional situation where one twin or one or two triplets are refused a place, in order to keep family members together the additional student(s) will be admitted even if this results in the admission limit for the year group being exceeded.

Children will be ranked in this admission criteria if they are children of staff at the school under the following circumstances: -

• where the member of teaching staff (including, staff that are at the school in positions, such as: Senior Leadership Team/level, Head of Year Group, Head of Department, Office Manager or SENCo) that has been employed at the school for two or more years at the time at which the application for admission to the school is made,

and/or

• the member of staff is recruited to fill a vacant post for which there is a demonstrable specialist skill shortage and
• are the children of the member of staff , living permanently with the member of staff at the same address. The member of staff must be working at the school at the time of application and expected to continue with their employment at the school during the application and allocation process.

For admissions into year 7, an applicant is under-age if he or she will be under 11 years of age on 31^st August immediately prior to admission in September. In accordance with the published Coordinated Admission Scheme, the LA (Southend-on-Sea Borough Council) will only accept applications from under-age applicants who have been registered in year 6 of their primary schools from the first day of the school year in which they apply for a secondary school place. This effectively requires that the decision to promote the child to the year group above his/her chronological age group must be taken by the primary school prior to the end of the summer term in the calendar year in which the child applies for a secondary school place. Confirmation of this is likely to be sought from the headteacher of the primary school concerned by SBC.

An applicant is over age if he or she is 12 years of age or over on 31st August immediately prior to admission in September. SBC will not accept over age applicants for year 7 admissions unless there are verified exceptional circumstances for a child to repeat one of the primary school years, for example, extended illness. SBC will seek verification from the headteacher of the primary school concerned that an over-aged applicant has medically certifiable reasons or some other exceptional reason for being an over-aged applicant. SBC will wish to investigate especially thoroughly the circumstances through which any child is found to be studying in Year 6 for the second time, especially if this should involve an application to sit the CSSE selection tests for a second time. Medical evidence will be required for such applicants.

This will include documenting the following and will be provided to the school:

• The parents’ views.
• Information about the child’s academic, social and emotional development.
• Where relevant, the child’s medical history and the views of a medical professional.
• Whether the child has previously been educated out of their normal age group.
• Whether the child may naturally have fallen into a lower age group if it were not for being born prematurely.
• They must also take into account the views of the Headteacher of the schools concerned.

The school will support any over or under-age application where the above has been met and the school is satisfied that the child should continue to be educated out of the normal age group. When informing the parent of the decision on the year group the child should be admitted to, we will clearly set out the reasons for the decision. A parent cannot appeal against refusal of an ‘out of normal age group’ application.

To request admission out of normal age group during the transfer process of year 6 to 7:

To request admission out of usual age group applicants must write to the Local Authority with their request. The Local Authority will share the details of the request with the school. Parents will be notified of the outcome before the allocation of places and must apply during the main round for the usual age group.

To request admission out of normal age group in-year:

To request admission out of usual age group applicants must write to the Head Teacher with their request. The Headteacher will advise accordingly and will ensure that a formal written outcome is provided.

Parents must make a separate application for transfer from junior/primary to secondary school to their home Local Authority. Parents residing in the borough of Southend-on-Sea must complete a Southend-on-Sea Common Application Form (CAF) for applications to year 7 between 1^st September and 31^st October.

For all applications the address used will be the child’s habitual normal place of residence as at the closing date for applications, i.e., 31^st October. Changes to address can be accommodated up to one month after the closing date. Where the address change cannot be accommodated within the reasonable period, parents will be advised and changes will be made after all on time applications have been processed.

To apply for a school place during the academic year (during year 7 and for years 8-11) parents will need to complete an In-Year Secondary School Transfer Application Form, which can be downloaded from our website or collected from school reception and must be submitted directly to the school.

• As permitted by law parents can make an application at any time to any school outside the normal admissions. Where places are available applicants will be offered. Where there are no places applicants will be refused and can join the waiting list for the school. Waiting lists are ranked according to the admission criteria for the school. In some cases where a child is already on a school roll locally the place may be offered for the start of the next term.
• To apply for a Year 7 place after the normal admission cycle or for admission into Years 8-11, parents will need to complete an In-Year Secondary School Transfer Application Form, which can be downloaded from our website or collected from school reception, and must be submitted directly to the school, office@shoeburyness.secat.co.uk
• Applications in the current school year are processed within a maximum of 15 school days of receipt of the application. Applications for the next school year are processed in the late Summer months and outcomes are communicated in the early Autumn term at the latest.
• Students that are refused a place are added to the waiting list and remain on the waiting list until 30 June of any given year. Waiting lists close on 30 June of any given year and new waiting lists are created for the next academic year (from the applications for the next school year). Waiting lists from previous years are not rolled over to the next. Parents wishing to continue on a waiting list for a following year are required to make a fresh application.
• As required by the School Admissions Code parents will be notified within 15 school days of the outcome of their application and will be sent a written outcome, with a reminder of the right of appeal, within 15 school days. All in-year applications and the outcome are reported to the Local Authority within 2 days.
• Mid-Year applicants who wish to apply specifically for a selective place, will be required to sit a selection test as part of the admission process. Those students securing results of 295+ will be added to the waiting list for selective places in the order of merit of those already on the waiting list. Those who have already sat the Test in year 6, will be asked for their scores and these will be verified with the CSSE organisation.

If it is not possible to offer the child a place at the school, details of the appeals process will be forwarded to the parent by the school, or in the case of Year 6 into 7 the Local Authority (www.southend.gov.uk/school-admissions/school-admission-appeals). If you would like to appeal against the decision not to offer your child a place at Shoeburyness High School, please complete a Notice of Appeal Form (this can be downloaded from our website or collected from school reception).

All Notice of Appeal Forms will be acknowledged by the school and you will be contacted by the Clerk for the Independent Appeal Panel and given a minimum of 10 school days’ notice of the date of the appeal hearing.

The School Admission Appeals Code sets out a strict timeline for the hearing of appeals.

In the case of admission to Year 7, Notice of Appeal forms must be lodged at the school within 20 school days of National Offer Day (1st March). All appeals that are received by this deadline will be heard on 17th June 2024. Any appeals received after this deadline may not be heard until September 2024.

For In-Year Appeals, Notice of Appeal Forms must be lodged within 20 days of receipt of letter refusing admission. In-year appeals must be heard within 30 school days of the appeal paperwork being received.

For all appeals, the Clerk to the Independent Appeals Panel will notify parents/carers of the panel’s decision within 5 school days of the hearing.

Prospective year 12 students are encouraged to visit our school prior to the autumn term, specifically at the Sixth Form Open Evening in November.  Application details, including a prospectus, can be accessed on the school website. To be sure of your application being given the best chance of being successful, please aim to complete our online application by the published deadline.

However, it may be possible to consider later applications. Priority is given to students who have previously attended Shoeburyness High School.

However, each year we are pleased to welcome a number of students who have previously studied elsewhere. Prospective year 12 students will be invited to visit the school to view our facilities and to discuss our curriculum offer with the Post-16 Team.

Places on Level 3 courses are offered to applicants who meet the minimum entry requirements. In addition to the overall entry requirement, there are specific GCSE entry requirements for each subject.

Full details of the courses available, entry requirements for each course and the overall entry requirements can be found in the Sixth Form Prospectus section of the website.

GCSE English and Maths Re-sits:

Any student not having achieved grades 4 in both English (Literature or Language) and Maths, will be required to attend after school re-sit classes. This will be considered a condition of entry for any student attending the Sixth Form provision at Shoeburyness High School.

For Level 3 students, progression into Year 13 is based on the successful completion of Year 12 studies and good attendance.

The academy reserves the right to alter the curriculum and withdraw courses depending on student numbers and staff changes. We guarantee, however, courses run in Year 12 will be continued into Year 13.

In the case of oversubscription, the following criteria will apply:

a) Looked after children and previously looked after children.

b) Current year 11 Shoeburyness High School students

c) Distance from the School measured using the shortest walking distance using public highways between the student’s home (including flats) and the student entrances to the school, as measured by the Local Authority’s computerised measuring system, with those living the closest being given priority.

The catchment area is provided in the catchment map look up facility:

https://southend.maps.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=d105451f93da49e7bd19ad946ffc2939

Priority area for selective and borderline selective places: