Witchford Village College

When there are more applications than places for 2027-28 (Year 7), places are offered in this order of priority. Meeting a higher criterion beats meeting a lower one.

1. 1Looked After / previously Looked After children — Children in Care, also known as Looked After Children (LAC), and children who were looked after but ceased to be so by reason of adoption, a resident order or a special guardianship order; includes those who appear to have been in state care outside of England and ceased to be so as a result of being adopted.
2. 2Children of staff — Children of staff who have been employed at the Academy for at least two years at the time of application or have been recruited to fill a vacant post for which there is a demonstrable skill shortage.
3. 3Catchment, primary-in-catchment and sibling — Children who live in catchment area, attend primary schools within the catchment area and who have a sibling at the school at the time of admission.
4. 4Catchment and sibling — Children who live in the catchment area with a sibling at the school at the time of the admission.
5. 5Catchment and primary-in-catchment — Children who live in the catchment area who attend the primary schools within it.
6. 6Catchment — Children who live in the catchment area.
7. 7Outside catchment, primary-in-catchment and sibling — Children who live outside the catchment area, who attend primary schools within it and who have a sibling at the school at the time of admission.
8. 8Outside catchment with sibling — Children who live outside the catchment area who have a sibling at the school at the time of admission.
9. 9Outside catchment, primary-in-catchment — Children who live outside the catchment area who attend the primary schools within the catchment area.
10. 10Outside catchment, nearest by distance — Children who live outside the catchment area, but nearest the school as measured by a straight line.

If two applications tie: Where places are oversubscribed within any of the above groups, priority will be given to children living nearest to the College, measured by a horizontal straight line between the College's main entrance and the front door of the dwelling at which the child is normally resident.

Children with a statement of special educational needs naming the school are admitted first (not itself a numbered criterion). The document's version-history table (dated September 2025) records 'Change of date to 2026-2027 admission year', which appears inconsistent with the document's own title and cover date of 'Admission Policy 2027-2028'; cohort_start_year of 2027 is taken from the title, which also matches the file name. The source list of oversubscription criteria prints two consecutive items both labelled 'viii)' (sibling outside catchment, then primary-in-catchment outside catchment); both are reported here in their printed order (ranks 8 and 9) without renumbering the source's own labels.

Published by the admission authority. Meeting a criterion never guarantees a place — it sets the order places are offered in. Full detail, other entry points and previous years are on the Admissions tab.