Admissions
All you need to know about applying to St Edward’s School…
Choosing where to apply for a secondary school is a significant decision and we are delighted that you are thinking of applying to St Edward’s School. We are renowned for our ability to secure top academic outcomes for students, among the highest 10% of schools nationally, combined with our strong ethos and pastoral care.
As a joint church school between the Roman Catholic Diocese of Plymouth and the Church of England Diocese of Salisbury, our primary aim is to provide an education that supports parents and carers from our dioceses with their responsibility to share their faith with their children.
ADMISSION FAQs
When and how should I apply?
If your child is due to transfer to secondary school in September 2024, you can apply from 1 September until 31 October 2023. There is no benefit to applying early as no applications are ranked until after the closing date. Should you apply after 31 October, your application will not be ranked until after National Offer Day, which is 1 March 2024.
The Coordinated Admission Scheme details for 2024-25 from BCP Council will be published on the BCP School Admissions website here.
What is a Supplementary Information Form?
If you are applying under faith grounds, you need to also complete a Supplementary Information Form (SIF). Previous forms for former church schools your child may have attended do not apply for St Edward’s. Please note that we cannot accept any supporting letters in lieu of a SIF. If your child was baptised out of the UK, we would recommend submitting a copy of their baptismal certificate at the same time as the SIF to avoid any delays or queries. Please note that it is your responsibility to ensure that the SIF has been completed correctly.
How many children can attend St Edward’s in Year 7?
The Published Admissions Number for 2024-25 is 182. On average, St Edward’s receive between 600-650 applications for those 182 places each year. Once the application window has closed, these are then ranked according to our Admissions Policy in the following order:
1. Looked After, or Previously Looked After children.
2. Roman Catholic children who have been baptised and have attended Roman Catholic Church services* at least monthly for the last 12 months as evidenced by completion of the St Edward’s VA Supplementary Information Form.
3. Church of England children who have been baptised or have had a service of thanksgiving and have attended Church of England church services* at least monthly for the last 12 months as evidenced by completion of the St Edward’s VA Supplementary Information Form.
4. Children who are members of churches which are a member of Churches Together in Britain and Ireland as stated on the CTBI website ctbi.org.uk/member-churches (including Baptist Union, Methodist, listed Orthodox, listed Pentecostal and United Reformed churches, the Salvation Army and members of the Religious Society of Friends) who meet their Church’s criteria for membership/practice and have attended services at least monthly for the last 12 months as evidenced by completion of the St Edward’s VA Supplementary Information Form.
5. Children who meet another Christian Church’s or Faith Community’s criteria for membership/practice as evidenced by completion of the St Edward’s VA Supplementary Information Form.
6. Children not able to be admitted under categories 1- 5.
* Services are defined as public acts of worship which are open to all.
Tie break: Should the numbers in each category exceed the number of places available for that category the following criteria will be applied to decide who can be admitted:
a) Children of members of staff who have been employed at the school for two or more years at the time at which the application for admission to the school is made or who have been recruited to fill a vacant post for which there is a demonstrable skill shortage.
b) Children who have a sibling who is on roll and attending the school in years 7-13 at the proposed date of admission.
c) Distance from the school (distance provided by BCP School Admissions)
Can I secure a place at St Edward’s if I don’t go to church?
For 2023-24 applicants, the furthest Category 6 application that gained a place was 0.949 miles.
If your child holds an Education, Health and Care Plan, we ask that you please contact our SENCo prior to application.
When do I find out my child’s school place?
National Allocation Day is 1st March 2024. From 10am on this day, you will be able view your child’s offered school and you will be asked to either accept or decline the offer and you have two weeks from the 1st March to do this.
What happens if my child does not get a place at their preferred school?
If you are unsuccessful in gaining a place at a higher preference school, your child’s name will be added to our waiting list, and the position will be determined by the same criteria as above. Therefore, please be aware that your child’s position can move up and down the list if someone later applies that meets a higher criteria. You are welcome to contact our Admissions Manager at any time to ask for your child’s position on the waiting list.
If you are successful in gaining a place at your first preference school, you will not be added to the waiting list at any of your lower preference schools.
Names will only remain on the waiting list for the Year 7 main entry admission cycle after 31 December 2024 if a written request is received.
Waiting lists for all years will then cease on 31 August 2025. If parents wish, they can submit a new application for the following academic year from 1 June 2025. If re-applying on faith grounds a new SIF form will need to be submitted.
In the event that an offer of a place is not made, you have the right to appeal the decision. Please refer to the appeals section below for further information or visit the BCP Appeals website. Please note that you can only appeal a decision once an academic year and you cannot appeal if you have been offered a higher preference of school for your child.
Please contact admissions@st-edwards.poole.sch.uk if we can help you with any queries.
New Parent Information
Click here if your child has been accepted and is joining the school to review policies and information.
Appeals
Parents have a right to express a preference for the school they would like their child to attend. The Admissions Authority must offer a place at the school unless there is a legal reason for refusing a place. As a Maintained School, the Governing Body are the Admissions Authority. We appreciate it is disappointing if you are not offered a place the school you prefer, however it is important to recognise that although you have a right to express a preference for the school you would like your child to attend, your preference may not be possible, and you may be allocated a different school for your child. The most common reason for not offering a place is that the school received more applications than places available and other children had a higher priority for a place at the school that your child when the school’s admission policy was applied.
Should it not be possible for the school to offer a place to your child, you may use your right to appeal. If you wish to appeal, you can lodge this on the BCP School Admissions website by clicking on the following link: https://www.bcpcouncil.gov.uk/Schools-and-learning/School-appeals/School-admission-appeals.aspx
Alternatively, you can send a paper copy of your appeal to the school, marked for the attention of Claire Delve, Admissions & Attendance Manager. However, we strongly advise that you use the webpage above.
APPEALS TIMETABLE 2023
Secondary School age places – Year 7, Year 9 and Year 12 – September 2023
Offer letters posted to parents/carers on National Offer Day by Local Authority 1 March 2023
Deadline for acceptance of offer by parent/carer 15 March 2023
Deadline for lodging an on-time admission appeal 30 March 2023
Appeal Hearing Dates Between 2 May and 30 June 2023
GENERAL
- Appeals lodged after these dates will be heard within 40 school days of the appeal deadline or 30 school days of being lodged, whichever is the later date.
- You will receive at least 10 school days’ notice of your appeal hearing date. School days do not include school holidays, inset days, bank holidays or weekends.
- Appeals are heard during the daytime on weekdays and are not normally heard during school holidays. Where there are multiple appeals for places at the same school, the hearings may go over a number of days.
- The school’s case will be made available to parents and Panel members at least 5 school days before the start of the appeal hearing.
- Additional evidence may be submitted up to 5 working days before the hearing.
- Any additional evidence received after this date might not be considered at the appeal hearing. The Appeal Panel must decide whether it should be considered taking into account its significance and the effect of a possible need to adjourn the hearing.
- Following the hearing, decision letters will be sent, where possible, within 5 school days of the end of the hearing. During busy periods, such as main entry, full decision letters may take longer than this, so the Clerk will send a brief decision summary email in the interim.
- Appeal hearings for in-year places will be heard within 30 school days of the appeal being lodged.
Discover More Series
Click Here
Prospectus
Admissions Policy 2022/2023
Admissions Policy 2023/2024
Admissions Policy 2024/2025
For translated versions in either Polish or Malayalam, please email admissions@st-edwards.poole.sch.uk.
Waiting Lists
Where waiting lists are held, BCP Council will ensure any places that become available are offered in accordance with the oversubscription criteria within the published admissions policy of the school.
Waiting lists expire on the 31 August each year. Parents and carers must submit a new application if they wish their child to remain on the waiting list for the next academic year. Applications for a new waiting list can be submitted from 1 June each year.
2024-25 Supplementary Information Form (SIF)
Parents to post or deliver their completed Supplementary Information Forms to Admissions at the school either via school reception, who will provide you with a receipt, or via email to admissions@st-edwards.poole.sch.uk If you choose to post your SIF to the school, we highly recommend that you use Special Delivery in order to guarantee its safe arrival as we cannot be held responsible for any forms that may be lost in transit.
Finally, a reminder that your completed SIF will need to be with us by 31st October 2022.
SIFs are available to download here and hard copies are available from the school office. For translated versions in either Polish or Malayalam, please email admissions@st-edwards.poole.sch.uk.
2023/2024 Supplementary Information Form (SIF) for IN-YEAR APPLICATIONS ONLY
Parents to post or deliver their completed Supplementary Information Forms to Admissions at the school either via school reception, who will provide you with a receipt, or via email to admissions@st-edwards.poole.sch.uk If you choose to post your SIF to the school, we highly recommend that you use Special Delivery in order to guarantee its safe arrival as we cannot be held responsible for any forms that may be lost in transit.
The SIF for in-year applications ONLY is available to download here and hard copies are available from the school office.
Over-subscription
Details of the over-subscription criteria can be found on page 2 of our Admissions policy.
Moving Schools or require further information?
If you would like to apply for a place mid year or require further information on Admissions for Years 7-11, please contact our Admissions Department on 01202 740950 or admissions@st-edwards.poole.sch.uk
Alternatively you can visit the BCP website at www.bcpcouncil.gov.uk or contact School Admissions on 01202 123222 or email school.admissions@bcpcouncil.gov.uk
Sixth Form Admissions
General
- Appeals lodged after these dates will be heard within 40 school days of the appeal deadline or 30 school days of being lodged, whichever is the later date
- You will receive at least 10 school days’ notice of your appeal hearing date. School days do not include school holidays, inset days, bank holidays or weekends.
- Appeal are normally heard during the daytime on weekdays and are not normally heard in school holidays. Where there are a number of parents all appealing for places at the same school, the hearings may go over a number of days.
- The school’s case will be dispatched to you and the Panel members at least 5 working days before the start of the appeal hearing
- Additional evidence may be submitted up to 5 working days before the hearing
- Any additional evidence received after this date might not be considered at the appeal hearing. The Appeal Panel must decide whether it should be considered taking into account its significance and the effect of a possible need to adjourn the hearing
- Following the hearing, decision letters will be sent, where possible, within five school days of the end of the hearing
- Appeal hearings for in-year places will be heard within 30 school days of the appeal being lodged.