Leigh Academy Bearsted

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

1. 1Children in Care and previously Looked After Children — 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 academy. A previously looked after child means children who were adopted (or subject to child arrangements orders or special guardianship orders) immediately following having been looked after and 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. 2Sibling — A brother or sister in the same academy at the time of entry where the family continue to live at the same address as when the sibling was admitted – or – if they have moved – now live in a property that is nearer to the academy than the previous property as defined by the 'Nearness''Distance criterion' (Point 5 below). For this criterion brother or sister means children who live as brother and sister in the same house, including natural brothers or sisters, adopted siblings, step brothers or sisters, foster brothers or sisters.
3. 3Children of Leigh Academy Bearsted Staff — The son or daughter of a member of staff who has been employed at the academy for two or more years at the time at which the application for admission to the academy is made, or who has been recruited to fill a vacant post at the academy for which there is a demonstrable skill shortage.
4. 4Health and Special Access Reasons — Medical and social reasons will be applied in accordance with the academy's legal obligations, in particular those under the Equality Act 2010. Priority will be given to those students whose medical or social reasons mean they have a demonstrable and significant need to attend Leigh Academy Bearsted. Equally this priority will apply to students whose parents'/guardians', medical or social needs means that they have a demonstrable and significant need to attend Leigh Academy Bearsted. Such claims will need to be supported by written evidence from a suitably qualified medical or social worker, and submitted at the time of application.
5. 5Distance — We use the distance between the child's permanent home address (defined in KCC's annual admissions prospectus) and the academy, measured in a straight line using the National Land and Property Gazetteer (NLPG) address point data. Distances are measured from a point defined as within the child's home to a point defined as within the academy as specified by NLPG. The same address point on the academy site is used for everybody.

If two applications tie: If the academy is oversubscribed and it is therefore necessary to use a tie-breaker to distinguish between two or more applications in any of the criteria 1-5 above a distance criterion will be used as above in criterion 5. In the unlikely event that two or more students in all other ways have equal eligibility for the last available place at the academy, the names will be issued a number and drawn randomly to decide which child should be given the place.

Multiple birth siblings (twins, triplets, etc.) will be admitted together even if this takes the academy above PAN. For Year R admissions resulting in exceeding PAN, additional pupils will be treated as 'excepted' for one year in line with the academy Admission Code. Applicants eligible under criteria 1-5 are each ranked in order of distance to the academy.

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.