Secondary School Admissions 2025Information for parents / carers

General Information

Full details of the Local Authority Co-ordinated scheme, and information on the agreed catchment area for the academy, are available on the South Tyneside Council website.

Applications can be made online or by written application, and full details, including key dates, can be found on the LA website.

Decisions concerning the admission of pupils to the Academy and the attendant administrative procedures are the responsibility of the Local Governing Body supported by the Local Authority.

Section 89 of the Schools Standards and Framework Act 1998 requires that the Academy’s Governors should consult on their arrangements on an annual basis where changes are proposed or at least once every seven years where there have been no changes.

The Academy and Local Authority operate an equal preference system which means that all first, second and third preference applications are considered equally against the criteria.

For the purpose of this document, the term “school” also applies to the Academy.

Our Admissions Policy

Entry at Key Stage 3 – Year 7

The academy has a Planned Admission Number of 271. Where we receive more than 271 applications are received the following oversubscription criteria will be applied:

• In the first instance, we will give priority to pupils with an Education, Health and Care Plan which names the Academy.
• The following criteria shall then apply:

1. A ‘Looked After Child’ or a child who was previously looked after but immediately after being looked after became subject to an adoption, child arrangement, or special guardianship order, including children (who appear to the admission authority) to have been in state care outside of England and ceased to be in state care as a result of being adopted (see note 1 below).
2. Parental home residence within the defined catchment area of the school. There is a defined geographic area called a catchment area. Details of the catchment areas for the Local Authority are available on their website, and can be found using the link provided above. Parents may also contact the School Admissions Team on 0191 424 7704 to confirm if their residence falls within the defined catchment area.
3. Children who have a sibling link and are residing at the same address (brother or sister including adoptive siblings, half siblings, step siblings, and long term fostered children) and are attending the Academy at the time of application (see note 2 below).
4. Shortest distance measured as a straight line, from the Ordnance Survey co-ordinates for the parental home residence (including flats) to the main academy entrance, using the Local Authority Geographic Information System (GIS), with those living closer to the Academy receiving higher priority (see note 3 below).

• In the event of appeals, the Academy will continue to observe the Local Authority co-ordinated admissions scheme.
• In determining admissions, priority would be given to those applications where the parental application form is received by the published deadline date.

Where there are not enough places to admit all the children falling within a particular criterion a distance measurement will also be used as a tiebreaker using the Local Authority’s Geographic Information System (GIS). We will measure in a straight line from the Ordnance Survey parental home residence point (including flats) to the school main entrance, using South Tyneside Council’s Geographic Information System (GIS), with those living closer to the school receiving higher priority.

Where two or more applicants meet the same admission criteria and the measured distance between home and school is the same to 3 decimal places, the tie break will be random allocation and will be by the drawing of lots to determine the rank order for each child. In order to ensure fairness the School Admissions Team will administer the random allocation system overseen by an independent adjudicator in accordance with the random allocation procedure.

Random Allocation Procedure:

In the situation that two or more applications measure the same distance to the school, random allocation will be used. The use of this is rare but the situations that random allocation would be required are:

• Same cohort siblings living at the same address. This does not include twins or multiple births who are an exception to Infant Class Size regulation but does include same cohort siblings applying for places in Year 3 and above.
• Unrelated applicants who live equidistant from the school.
• House of multiple occupation (where living accommodation is shared but not bedrooms. e.g. not a block of flats).
• Forces families applying with a Forces Post Office address and for admission purposes the unit address is used as there is no allocated housing order.

Each random allocation event is only valid for the allocation of the available school place. On any waiting list the remaining applicants will remain equally ranked and any further place offered will be the result of a further random allocation.

The random allocation will be overseen by a person who is not involved in the allocation process. The roles involved with the random allocation are:

• Independent Adjudicator (IA) – this is a person who ensures the process is carried out in a fair and transparent way. The IA must be independent of the school for which the allocation is to be made and must not be a member of the Admissions Team.
• Admissions Officer (AO) – this is an officer from the Admissions Team who is responsible for carrying out the administration of the random allocation procedure and recording the results, under the scrutiny of the IA.
• Person who makes the draw (P) – this must be a person independent of the school for which the allocation is to be made and must be a person who is not a member of the Admissions Team.

Entry at Key Stage 5

The Academy provides courses of study for post 16 (6th form) students. The entry requirements for Harton 6th Form is largely dependent on the course of study that a student wishes to access. The availability of courses is dependent upon the number of applicants and the financial sustainability of the course. The Governing Body of the Academy determines these factors. The capacity of the 6th Form is 266 which equate to 133 per year group.

• To access level three courses at Harton 6th Form, students need to obtain a minimum GCSE only average point score (APS) of 5.5 from their best 8 GCSE results
• Students should have at least GCSE grade 4 in both English and Mathematics
• Further details of specific entry requirements and courses available can be found on the Harton 6th Form website or may be obtained by contacting the Academy.

In the first instance where there is a larger number of applicants than we have places for, priority will be given to:

• Firstly, students who have attended the school in the previous academic year (during Year 11) and who satisfy the school’s entry requirements of the course available.
• And then all other students of the relevant age who satisfy the school’s entry requirements for the courses available.

Where the above criteria are not enough to help us decide, we shall follow the criteria set out in 2.1 above, which are the same for key stages 3 and 4.

Waiting List – Year 7

If parents have been refused a place at Harton Academy, they will have the opportunity to place their child’s name on a waiting list if they have ranked the school as a higher preference than the one offered.

Waiting lists are established after the Local Authority have sent offers for places, as part of their normal procedure. This is usually the beginning of March, however Parents should check the Local Authority website or contact the Local Authority for specific details, or to request that the child’s name is placed on the waiting list as this is not an automatic procedure. The waiting list will operate until 31 December.

Children are placed on the waiting list according to the oversubscription criteria regardless of when their application was received. Within each criterion their place is ordered by the shortest distance measured as a straight line, from the Ordnance Survey co-ordinates for the parental home residence (including flats) to the main Academy entrance, using South Tyneside Council’s Geographic Information System (GIS), with those living closer to the Academy receiving higher priority.

The Academy will request proof of residency for parents / carers who wish their child’s name to be placed on the waiting list.

If pupil numbers fall below the published admission number the place will be offered to the child at the top of the waiting list. A child who is on the waiting list will move down the list if another late application is received that falls within a higher priority under the oversubscription criteria. Waiting lists will be held for one term in the academic year i.e. from September until December each year. No lists will be kept after this date.

Withdrawing an offer of a place at the Academy

When considering an application, only the address of the parent/carer with whom the child normally resides will be taken into account (a parent/carer means any person who holds parental responsibility, and with whom the child normally resides). The address of childminders or other relatives or friends who may help you look after your child must not be used on your application.

We reserve the right to seek proof of your address and it should be noted that an offer of a place may be withdrawn if information supplied by you on your application is intentionally misleading or fraudulent (for example, a false claim to residence). Where a place is withdrawn, your application will be considered afresh, and the right to appeal offered if a place is refused.

In-Year Admissions

An “in-year admission” means any application for a place other than the normal year of entry, i.e. outside the normal Year 7 admission.

Where a place is available in the requested year group the Academy, via the Local Authority, will offer this immediately and seek to transfer the child as soon as possible and within the required 20 school days. The child and parents / carers will be given an induction meeting and the child will follow a closely monitored Induction Programme for a period of 6 weeks to ensure the child settles quickly into the life of the Academy. Children who fall under the agreed Local Authority Fair Access Protocol will follow the same programme of induction.

Transfer to post-16 provision

The Academy will make every effort to support the transition of all pupils to their post-16 placement. Where pupils are identified to be vulnerable or to have specific learning needs, the Academy will continue to support the transition where possible through appropriate liaison.

Parental Responsibility

Who is a ‘parent’ in relation to education legislation? Section 576 of the Education Act 1996 defines the term ‘parent’ as:

• All natural parents married or not
• Any person who has got ‘parental’ responsibility (we will require documentary evidence)
• Any person without being a natural parent or having ‘parental responsibility’ who has care of the pupil (we will require documentary evidence)

At What Age Does my Child Transfer into Secondary School?

Every parent whose child is in their last year of Junior or Primary education (Year 6) whose date of birth is between 1 September and 31 August (i.e. within a normal academic year) will need to complete an application for admission into Secondary School. Most children will be admitted to a school within their own age group but it is possible for you to request a place outside your child’s normal age group. This might be because you have a particularly gifted and talented child, or your child has missed part of a year maybe due to ill health. This option should be discussed with the Academy’s Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator and an Educational Psychologist.

We will consider such requests on the basis of the circumstances of each individual child and in consultation with the appropriate colleagues and with the written recommendation of an Educational Psychologist. If your application for a place outside the normal age group is refused, you have a right to appeal against the decision.

Additional Information for applications to Harton 6th Form

How and when to apply

Applications for entry to the 6th Form are made via the Harton website. Completed applications must be received by the Academy by end of January, at the beginning of the year in which they wish to commence study at key stage 5. The precise date will be published on the 6th Form website. All applicants will be interviewed and conditional offers made once all the guidance interviews have been completed.

Any applications received after the closing date will be considered after those received on time.

A provisional offer of a place will be made by the end of April following the submission closing date. All offers are made subject to confirmation of meeting the required academic entry requirements.

Appeals

Unsuccessful applicants to the 6th form are entitled to appeal against a decision not to admit them. It will be to a panel who are independent of the initial decision not to admit.

False Information

Where a place has been offered on the basis of a fraudulent or intentionally misleading application, the offer of the place will be withdrawn.