Withington Primary School

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

1. 1Looked after children1 and previously looked after children2 who have since been — Looked after children1 and previously looked after children2 who have since been adopted, or became subject to a child arrangements order3 or special guardianship order,4 including those 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.
2. 2Children living within the defined catchment area* of the school — Children living within the defined catchment area* of the school;
3. 3Sibling connection — Sibling connection - Children who have a sibling** at the preferred school not only at the time of application but also when the child is due to start
4. 4Exceptional circumstances — Exceptional circumstances - Children with exceptional medical, social or compassionate grounds for admission and whose parents can show that entry to a particular school only is necessary for the wellbeing of their child. Parents are required to produce a medical certificate or other appropriate information preferably from an independent source.
5. 5Distance*** — Distance*** - Children who live nearest to the school by the shortest available walking route. General Notes No priority is given to pupils living outside but attending a primary school within the catchment area of the relevant high school, i.e. the determining factor is the child’s home address. Where, at any school, applications exceed the number of places, the priorities will be applied in the sequence indicated above, i.e. after children who either currently are or were in the 'looked 1 A 'looked after child' is a child who is (a) in the care of a local authority, or (b) being provided with accommodation by a local authority in the exercise of their social services functions (see the definition in Section 22(1) of the Children Act 1989) at the time of making an application to a school. 2 This includes children who were adopted under the Adoption Act 1976 (see section 12 adoption orders) and children who were adopted under the Adoption and Childrens Act 2002 (see section 46 adoption orders). 3 A child is regarded as having been in state care outside of England if they were in the care of or were accommodated by a public authority, a religious organisation, or any other provider of care whose sole or main purpose is to benefit society. 3a Child arrangements orders are defined in s.8 of the Children Act 1989, as amended by s.12 of the Children and Families Act 2014. Child arrangements orders replace residence orders and any residence order in force prior to 22 April 2014 is deemed to be a child arrangements order. 4 See Section 14A of the Children Act 1989 which defines a ‘special guardianship order’ as an order appointing one or more individuals to be a child’s special guardian (or special guardians). after' system it will be catchment area children second, siblings third, ****exceptional circumstances fourth, then according to distance, each assessed as indicated above. If the admission of the top three categories can be satisfied, but there are insufficient places for all out of area siblings, priorities will be decided first by reference to exceptional circumstances, then according to distance, with those living nearest to the school using the distance calculations outlined below *** taking priority Following the allocation of the top two categories there may be an occasion when it is not possible to offer places for all children living in the catchment area. In this situation the places will be allocated in the sequence of the criteria listed above, i.e. first to children with siblings who would still be at the school in September 2026, next to pupils with exceptional circumstances, and finally according to distance from the school. In case where distance is not the final deciding factor i.e. two applications are at exactly the same distance then the final tie breaker will be a lottery undertaken by an individual independent of the Children and Families directorate. * In order to determine the relevant catchment area, the home address of a child is defined as the only or main permanent residential address, at the closing date for applications, where the child usually resides and which is the usual address of the parent/carer with main responsibility for the child. If arrangements are such that a child resides at two addresses for equal amounts of time, then parents must decide which address to use for admissions purposes. Where more than one parent submits an application for a child, or where there is a parent not in agreement with the preferences, the Local Authority may not be able to process any application until agreement over the preferences is reached. Failure to ensure agreement prior to submission, may result in a delay in any application being processed and in some instances, where agreement cannot be reached we may not be able to proceed until a legal resolution has been sought and the courts determine which parent can make the final decision on schooling Copies of catchment area maps, if required are available from the LA, or can be viewed in schools. To find the catchment school for a postcode please visit https://www.herefordshire.gov.uk/schools-education/find-school ** A sibling connection refers to a brother or sister, half brother or sister, adopted brother or sister, step brother or sister, or a child of the parents/carer’s partner, and in every case the child must be living in the same family unit at the same address. ***Distance is measured by the shortest available walking route (using road and/or made up footpath) using the nearest network node from the property address point to the nearest network node at the main school entrance gate. Please see Information for parents’ booklet for the relevant age group for details of requesting admission out of the normal age group and for information on waiting lists

If two applications tie: Children who live nearest to the school by the shortest available walking route.

Herefordshire Council is the admission authority for this school. Oversubscription criteria for all community and voluntary controlled primary and secondary schools in Herefordshire, for admission in academic year 2027-2028 — list (A). CATCHMENT AREA is a ranked criterion in its own right; catchment maps are available from the local authority and in schools. Distance is measured by the shortest available WALKING route, not a straight line. Children with an EHCP naming the school are allocated places first; this 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.