Wyke Regis Church of England Junior School

When there are more applications than places for 2026-27 (Year 3), places are offered in this order of priority. Meeting a higher criterion beats meeting a lower one.

1. 1A child in care or previously a child in care — A 'Child in Care' means any child who is in the care of a local authority in accordance with Section 22(1) of the Children Act 1989. A child who was 'previously a Child in Care' means a child who after being looked after became subject to an Adoption Order, a Child Arrangement Order or a Special Guardianship Order. This category also includes Internationally Adopted Previously Looked After Children — children outside England who were deemed to have been in the care of the State prior to their adoption.
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. Evidence is required, such as a Child Protection Order, Children in Need document or a written statement from a doctor, social worker or other relevant independent professional, confirming the need and demonstrating that the specified school is the only one that can meet it.
3. 3Catchment-area siblings — Children living within the school's catchment area who will have a sibling attending the school at the time of admission. 'Sibling' means full, half, step or adoptive brother or sister and other non-blood related children living with married or cohabiting parents in the same household, and relates to all year groups the school provides. For an infant school the sibling link applies to the related junior school and vice versa.
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. This feeder criterion applies only to children moving from Wyke Regis Infants to Wyke Regis Junior.
5. 5Children living within the school's catchment area — Children living within the school's catchment area.
6. 6Out-of-catchment siblings — Children living outside the school's catchment area who will have a sibling attending the school at the time of admission, with the same definition of sibling as above.
7. 7Out-of-catchment feeder school — Children living outside the school's catchment area who are attending one of the preferred school's recognised maintained feeder schools during the previous year at the time of application. This applies to children moving to Beaminster School, Gillingham School, Ferndown Upper, Sturminster Newton High School or The Blandford School, and to children moving to Cranborne Middle or West Moors Middle School who attend one of the designated First Schools. Independent schools, pre-schools and nurseries do not count.
8. 8Denominational grounds at a CE voluntary controlled school — Children living outside the school's catchment area whose parents wish them to attend a Church of England voluntary controlled school on denominational grounds. At least one adult family member and the child must have attended their local church at least once a month for a minimum of a year before the closing date, supported by a written statement from the vicar, priest, minister or church leader.
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, and who still intend to be employed at the school at the time of the child's admission. A letter from the Headteacher must be provided at the time of application.
10. 10All other children living outside the catchment area — All other children living outside the school's catchment area.

If two applications tie: If oversubscribed within any of the priority categories, places are allocated on the shortest straight-line measurement using a geographical information system that identifies an Easting and Northing for the home address and the school. If the LA still cannot distinguish between applications, lots are drawn by a person independent of the LA. Where multiple birth siblings could not otherwise be offered the same school, the admission number is exceeded to accommodate them.

Dorset Council is the admission authority for its community and voluntary controlled schools and publishes one set of criteria for them all. Five of the ten priorities turn on the school's CATCHMENT AREA, which Dorset publishes as a boundary and which is held on this school's page. Two priorities are school-specific: the feeder-school steps name particular schools, and the denominational step applies only to the Church of England voluntary controlled schools listed in Appendix 1 (Broadwindsor, Greenford, Cerne Abbas, All Saints Bishops Caundle, Holy Trinity, Beaminster School and The Gillingham School). Dorset has schools with four different transfer ages — 7+, 9+, 11+ and 13+ — so check which applies to this school.

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.