Gosforth Central Middle School

When there are more applications than places for 2026-27 (Year 5), 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 — Looked after status • Children who are currently looked after by a local authority (in care) and children who were previously looked after by a local authority and immediately afterwards became subject to an adoption, residence (child arrangements) order or special guardianship order; • 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 been adopted Evidence of the appropriate order must be submitted before the closing date for applications.
2. 2Designated Feeder Schools — Designated Feeder Schools – Group A Children attending one of the designated feeder schools (group A): • Archbishop Runcie First School • Grange First School • South Gosforth First School
3. 3Designated Feeder Schools — Designated Feeder Schools – Group B Children attending any other Gosforth first school that is a designated feeder school (group B): • Archibald First School • Havannah First School • Brunton First School • Dinnington First School • Gosforth Park First School • Regent Farm First School
4. 4Children attending a feeder school — Siblings Children not attending a designated feeder school in group A or group B, who have a brother or sister (a sibling) who will be on roll at the school on the date that the child will be admitted in September 2026. Sibling can be a brother or sister, half brother or sister, adopted brother or sister, step-brother or sister, or the child of the parent or carer’s partner, as long as the children live at the same address.
5. 5Exceptional medical or psychological grounds — Medical Children with an exceptional medical reason that means they can only attend the specific school (for example, where the child or one or both parents has a disability that means that the child can only attend this school). Strong supporting evidence must be provided from a healthcare professional who is independent of both the family and the school. The evidence must relate specifically to this school and must clearly demonstrate why it is the only school that can meet the child's needs.
6. 6Distance from the school — Distance Children living nearest to the school as measured in a straight line from a single fixed central point at the school to a point in the centre of the home address of the child, using the Local Land and Property Gazetteer and British National Grid Easting and Northing co-ordinates. 5. Tie break Where more children apply from a feeder school than there are places available, priority will be given to those with a sibling who will be attending the school when the applicant starts. Distance from home to school will be the deciding factor for the remaining children. In the event that more than one child has an equal right to an available place the place will be offered by random allocation. 6. Additional notes • Parents/carers have two weeks to respond to an offer of a school place. If an acceptance is not received it may be assumed that a place is no longer required and the offer may be withdrawn. • Parents who share responsibility for the care of their child are expected to reach agreement to a school placement between them. In the event of a dispute the school will accept the application from the parent to whom the child benefit is paid. • When stating your choice of school, you must give the child’s permanent address at the time of application. The address of childminders or other family members who may share in the care of your child must not be quoted as the home address. • If the child lives part of the week between two parents, the child’s address should be the address where the child lives (1) during the school week, or (2) with the parent who receives child benefit or where the child is registered with a GP, if there is any dispute. 7. Waiting lists For Year 5 places, waiting lists will be kept until the end of December 2026 and will then be cleared. Waiting lists will be ranked using the oversubscription criteria regardless of the date the application was received. From January and then on a termly basis, waiting lists will be cleared and parents will need to re-apply each term if they still want their child to be considered for a place at the school. 8. Right of appeal Parents/carers who are refused a place for their child have a statutory right of appeal to an independent appeals panel. Please contact the School Appeals Team for information (phone 0191 277 7427 or email schoolappeals@newcastle.gov.uk). Information is also available on the Newcastle City Council website here. 9. Definitions • A Looked After Child is a child who is in the care of a local authority in accordance with section 22 of the Children Act 1989 at the time the application for admission to school is made and whom the local authority has confirmed will still be looked after at the date of admission. • An Adoption Order is an order made under section 46 of the Adoption and Children Act 2002. • A Child Arrangements Order (previously known as a Residence Order) is an order outlining the arrangements as to the person with whom the child will live. • A Special Guardianship Order is an order appointing one or more individuals to be a child’s special guardian or guardians. There is a right for people to object about the policies to the Schools Adjudicator (OSA). See the Schools Adjudicator website for more information on how to do this. Objections for the admissions arrangements for 2025/26 must be made by 15 May 2025.

Transcribed verbatim from the school's own published determined admission policy. A child with an Education, Health and Care Plan naming the school must be admitted; that is not an oversubscription criterion. CORRECTION 2026-09-12: this was first filed under 2027-28 because the link that led to it said 2027; the document's own heading states the 2026-27 academic year.

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.