UTC South Durham

When there are more applications than places for 2027-28 (Year 9), places are offered in this order of priority. Meeting a higher criterion beats meeting a lower one.

1. 1Looked after and previously looked after children — Criterion 1: Children in Public Care (Looked After Children) and previously looked after children. This will always be with approval from the relevant Local Authority. UTC South Durham Admissions Policy 2027-2028 4
2. 2Sibling link — Criterion 2: Siblings of students enrolled at UTC South Durham at the time of the application. (Siblings means children living in the same household and includes brothers and sisters, adopted and fostered children and the unrelated children of adults living together as part of the same family unit at the time when the child is due to start in the UTC).
3. 3Distance from the school — Criterion 3: Remaining places will be allocated by distance from UTC South Durham with those living closest being given priority for admission. Distance will be measured by a straight line from the front door of the student’s home address to the front door of UTC South Durham. 7. Tiebreak In the event of two or more applications that cannot otherwise be separated, random allocation will be used as a tiebreak. All processes of random allocation under these arrangements will be supervised by someone independent of UTC South Durham. 8. Appeals Any student not offered a place at UTC South Durham will have a right of appeal to an Independent Appeals Panel. The appeals process will conform to the School Admission Appeals Code and will be binding on all parties. The Appeals Panel members will be independent of UTC South Durham. Guidance will be prepared for parents and young people about how the appeal process will work, provide them with a named contact who can answer any enquiries they may have and ensure that they are invited to attend the hearing. The appeals process will be independently administered and clerked. Appeals should be made in writing to: c/o Clerk to Trustees, UTC South Durham, Long Tens Way, Aycliffe Business Park, DL5 6AP, to arrive not later than 20 days from the date of notification that the application was unsuccessful. 9. Admission of children outside their normal age group Parents may request that their child is admitted to a year group outside their normal age range, e.g. where the student is gifted or talented or where a student has suffered from particular social or medical issues impacting their schooling. All such requests will be considered on their merits and either agreed or refused, on that basis. If a request is refused, the child will still be considered for admission to their normal age group. With the application, parents should request that the student is admitted to another year group (state which one), and the reasons for that request. Parents will submit any evidence in support of their case with the application. Some of the evidence a parent might submit could include:
4. 4Information about the student’s academic, social and emotional development
5. 5Exceptional medical or psychological grounds — Where relevant, their medical history and the views of a medical professional UTC South Durham Admissions Policy 2027-2028 5
6. 6Whether they have previously been educated out of their normal age group The UTC will co… — Whether they have previously been educated out of their normal age group The UTC will consider each case on its merits, taking into account the individual circumstances of the request and the student’s best interests. We will also ensure the parent is aware of whether the request for admission out of age group has been agreed before final offers are made, and the reason for any refusal. Requests for admission out of the normal year group will be considered alongside other applications made at the same time for the requested year group of entry. 10. Waiting lists Where UTC South Durham receives more eligible applications than there are places available, a waiting list will be maintained by UTC South Durham until the end of the first term after the start of the school year. It will be open to any parent to ask for their child’s name to be placed on the waiting list. If and when places become available they will be allocated to those on the waiting list in line with the oversubscription criteria. 11. Management of applications For both age groups the following deadlines apply for applications to be considered:
7. 71 December 2026, 12.00 midnight, the application deadline, for those who wish to apply t… — 1 December 2026, 12.00 midnight, the application deadline, for those who wish to apply to secure a place. Following the 1 December deadline, applications will be considered and offers of places made. If application numbers are greater than the PAN then the oversubscription criteria will be used. Offers must be formally accepted by families in order to reserve a place. Decisions on applications received by 1 December will be notified to applicants within two weeks of the main deadline (14 December).

Read 2026-09-12 from the school's own published determined admission policy, found by crawling the school's website (and, where the site builds its navigation in JavaScript, by rendering it in a browser). A child with an Education, Health and Care Plan naming the school must be admitted; that is not an oversubscription criterion.

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.