The Blandford School

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. 1Child in Care / previously Child in Care — A "Child in Care" or who was "previously a Child in Care" (see footnote 1)
2. 2Exceptional medical or social need — Children who the authority accepts have an exceptional medical or social need and where there is a need for a place at one specific school (see footnotes 2).
3. 3Catchment area siblings — Children living within the school's catchment area who will have a sibling(s) attending the school at the time of admission. (see footnote 3 & 4)
4. 4Catchment area feeder school — Children living within the school's catchment area who are attending the preferred school's recognised maintained feeder school during the previous year and are on that school's roll at the time of application. (see footnote 5).
5. 5Catchment area — Children living within the school's catchment area.
6. 6Outside catchment siblings — Children living outside the school's catchment area who will have a sibling(s) attending the school at the time of admission. (see footnote 4)
7. 7Outside catchment feeder school — Children living outside the school's catchment area and who are attending one of the preferred school's recognised maintained feeder schools during the previous year at the time of application. (see footnote 6,7)
8. 8CE VC denominational grounds — Children living outside the school's catchment area and whose parents wish them to attend a CE Voluntary Controlled school on denominational grounds. (see footnote 8)
9. 9Children of staff — Children of staff with at least two years continuous service at the school or who have been recruited to a vacancy to meet a demonstrable skills shortage as at the date of application (in year) or relevant closing date under the LA co-ordinated scheme (normal year of entry) and who still intend to be employed at the school at the time of the child's admission. (see footnote 9 & 10)
10. 10All other children outside catchment — All other children living outside the school's catchment area.

If two applications tie: If oversubscribed within any of the priority order categories above, places will be allocated on the basis of the shortest straight-line measurement using a geographical information-based system which identifies an Easting and Northing for the home address and the school and calculates the distance between the two locations. In the event that the LA is unable to distinguish between applications despite applying the priority categories above, lots will be drawn by an independent (of the LA) person to determine the final place(s).

Local-authority coordinated default oversubscription criteria for Dorset Council's community and voluntary-controlled schools (the council is the admission authority). Some community/voluntary-controlled schools in this authority apply catchment-area, feeder-school or priority-area variants — check the individual school for its exact arrangements. Where a school is named on an EHC Plan, the child will be admitted before oversubscription criteria are applied. Some schools have designated feeder schools/catchment variants and CE Voluntary Controlled schools apply criterion (viii) for denominational grounds (listed in Appendix 1).

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.