Admission Arrangements

Bilbrook CE Middle School has become a popular choice with parents and students due to the high quality of education it provides and its caring environment.

There are two main times when students are admitted at Bilbrook – Years 5 and 7.
Year 5 is a popular choice for students who have attended local first schools and parents who would like their child to experience high quality specialist teaching from an early age.

Year 7 is popular with students who have attended primary schools and with parents who would like their child to experience Key Stage 3 at Bilbrook and transfer to Codsall Community High School.

Although parents have the right to express a preference for the school that they wish their child to attend, there is no guarantee of a place being offered at their preferred school. It is the County Council’s policy to try and meet parents wishes where possible, however in some cases there may be more applications for a particular school than there are places available.

Admission to oversubscribed community and voluntary controlled schools is determined by the over-subscription criteria given below.

Oversubscription Criteria If the total number of preferences for admission to a school exceeds the school’s Published Admission Number (PAN), the following order of priority is used to allocate the available places. (N.B., after applying the oversubscription criteria, where an applicant can be offered a place at more than one preferred school then they will be offered a place at the school ranked highest on their application.) The PAN of Bilbrook CE Middle School is 50 per year group.

Children in Care and children who ceased to be in care because they were adopted (or became subject to a residence order or special guardianship order). 2) Children who satisfy both of the following tests:

Test 1: the child is distinguished from the great majority of applicants either on their own medical grounds or by other exceptional circumstances. Medical grounds must be supported by a medical report (obtained by the applicant and provided at the point of application). This report must clearly justify, for health reasons only, why it is better for the child’s health to attend the preferred school rather than any other school. Exceptional circumstances must relate to the choice of school and the individual child, i.e. the circumstances of the child, not the economic or social circumstances of the parent/carer. It should be supported by a professional report (obtained by the applicant and provided at the point of application), e.g. social worker. This report must clearly justify why it is better for the child to attend the preferred school rather than any other school.

Test 2: the child would suffer hardship if they were unable to attend the preferred school. Hardship means severe suffering of any kind, not merely difficulty or inconvenience, which is likely to be experienced as a result of the child attending a different school. Applicants must provide detailed information about both the type and severity of any likely hardship at the time of application.

Children who have an elder sibling in attendance at the preferred school and who will still be attending the school at the proposed admission date; (For admission purposes, a brother or sister is a child who lives at the same address and either: have one or both natural parents in common; are related by a parents marriage; are adopted or fostered by a common parent or are unrelated children who live at the same address, whose parents live as partners.)

Children living within the catchment area of the preferred school

Children who attend certain primary schools defined as major contributory primary schools. (See Additional Notes below.)
Other children arranged in order of priority according to how near their home addresses are to the main gate of the school, determined by a straight-line measurement as calculated by the Local Authority’s Geographical Information System. Where it is not possible to accommodate all children applying for places within a particular category then the Local Authority will allocate the available places in accordance with the remaining criteria. If for instance, all the catchment area children cannot be accommodated at a school, children who are resident within the catchment area will be arranged in order of priority according to distance i.e. category (6).

Applications are through the local authority where you live. If you live in Staffordshire or Wolverhampton you can apply by clicking the appropriate link below.

Staffordshire County Council Primary School Admissions

Staffordshire County Council High School Admissions

Wolverhampton Council High School Admissions

To arrange a visit so you can see what Bilbrook can offer, contact the school:

  office@bilbrook.staffs.sch.uk

  01902 840910