St Joseph's R.C.High School

When there are more applications than places for 2026-27 (Year 7), places are offered in this order of priority. Meeting a higher criterion beats meeting a lower one.

1. 1Looked-after and previously looked-after Baptised Roman Catholic children — Looked-after and previously looked-after Baptised Roman Catholic children. Resident Anywhere. Certificate of baptism required. Evidence of being or previously looked-after will be required.
2. 2Baptised RC children from designated Catholic Primary schools — Baptised Roman Catholic children from the above Catholic Primary schools. Resident Newport City & South Monmouthshire. Certificate of baptism required.
3. 3Baptised RC children not educated in a Catholic school — Baptised Roman Catholic children not educated in a Catholic school. Certificate of baptism required.
4. 4Looked-after & previously looked-after Non-RC children — Looked-after children & previously looked-after Non-Roman Catholic children. Resident Anywhere. Evidence of being or previously looked-after will be required.
5. 5Non-Catholic children from designated Catholic Primary schools — Non-Catholic children educated in the above Catholic Primary schools, whose parents seek a specifically Christian education, supported by a letter from the Headteacher. Resident Newport City & South Monmouthshire. The letter of recommendation from the Headteacher should detail your support for Roman Catholic education.
6. 6Siblings of children admitted under criteria 7-14 — Siblings of children already admitted under criteria 7, 8, 9,10,11,12,13 & 14 in that order of priority. Resident Anywhere. Name(s) and year group(s) of sibling(s) that have been entered on page 2.
7. 7Christian children not in Catholic Primary, Minister letter — Christian children not educated in a Catholic Primary school, whose parents seek a specifically Christian education, supported by a letter from your Minister of Religion. Resident Newport City & South Monmouthshire. The supporting letter must show participation in the faith of which this minister is giving advice.
8. 8Other faiths not in Catholic Primary, Faith Leader letter — Children of other faiths not educated in a Catholic Primary school, whose parents seek a specifically Christian education, supported by a letter from your Minister of Religion/Faith Leader. The supporting letter must show participation in the faith of which this minister/faith leader is giving advice.
9. 9Baptised RC children from other Catholic schools — Baptised Roman Catholic children from other Catholic Primary or Secondary schools. Certificate of baptism required.
10. 10Non-Catholic children from other Catholic Primary schools, not resident — Non-Catholic children educated in other Catholic Primary schools, whose parents seek a specifically Christian education, supported by a letter from the Headteacher. NOT resident in Newport City & South Monmouthshire. The letter of recommendation from the Headteacher should detail your support for Roman Catholic education.
11. 11Christian children not in Catholic Primary, not resident — Christian children not educated in a Catholic Primary school, whose parents seek a specifically Christian education supported by a letter from your Minister of Religion. NOT resident in Newport City & South Monmouthshire. The supporting letter must show participation in the faith of which this minister is giving advice.
12. 12Other faiths not in Catholic Primary, not resident — Children of other faiths not educated in a Catholic Primary school, whose parents seek a specifically Christian education supported by a letter from your Minister of Religion/Faith Leader. NOT resident in Newport City & South Monmouthshire. The supporting letter must show participation in the faith of which this minister/faith leader is giving advice.
13. 13Children with no faith stated, resident — Children, with no faith stated. Resident Newport City & South Monmouthshire.
14. 14Children with no faith stated, not resident — Children, with no faith stated. NOT resident in Newport City & South Monmouthshire.

If two applications tie: Within each set of over-subscription criteria, if the cumulative number of applications exceeds the published admission number, priority will be decided: 1. Siblings Within each criterion, priority will be by reference to the youngest sibling in the school, the youngest commanding the highest priority. 2. Distance Priority will be based on those residing closest to St Joseph’s RC High School. This distance is measured as the shortest available walking route, between the nearest entrance / front gate of the home and the nearest of the two school gates at St Joseph’s. For Newport residents, the school uses the route determined by Newport City Council (NCC), who deem a route is available if a child, accompanied as necessary, can walk to the school in reasonable safety. NCC will determine the route as outlined above using its own specific routing software. In order to ensure fairness and consistency for all applicants this is the only measurement tool that is used by the Council for its own schools and St Joseph’s. For Monmouthshire residents the school uses the shortest driving distance using Google Maps.

a) Within all criteria, the following applicants will be given first priority: Medical grounds: Each application must be accompanied by supporting evidence from a doctor /medical consultant. The supporting evidence must set out the particular reasons why St Joseph’s is the most suitable school and the difficulties that would be caused if the child had to attend another school. Full details concerning the application must be supplied. Or a pupil placed on the Child Protection Register and recommended by Social Services. b) Within criteria 1, 2, 3, 4 & 5 siblings will be given highest priority. Siblings are brothers and sisters, whether half, full, step, adopted, or foster will be considered relevant where living in the same household and where an older child will still be registered at the school when the younger one would be eligible to attend. c) Multiple births (twins, triplets etc.) When applying the oversubscription criteria and the last child to be admitted is one of a multiple birth, the governors will admit the other sibling(s). Appeals Procedure: Parents/Carers have a right of appeal against a refusal by the Governing Body to admit their child and should put their appeal in writing to the Admissions Officer at the school, within 14 days (10 working days) from the date of notification that their application was unsuccessful. Appeals will be arranged, with an independent panel and conducted in accordance with the School Admission Appeals Code, Welsh Government Statutory Code No. 001/2023. Waiting List: All parents/carers with rejected applications may ask to have their children’s names added to a waiting list. If any places become available, they will be allocated in accordance with the admission criteria on page 3 & 4. The waiting list does not give priority to children based either upon the date of the application or the date it was added to the list. The list will stay open until 30 September 2026. Once this date has passed, parents will be contacted and asked to confirm if they wish to remain on the waiting list for this initial academic year. If a place is still required a new application must be made for the next academic year. Policy states it governs: Admissions in September 2026.

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.