The Cherwell School

When there are more applications than places for 2027-28 (Year 7), places are offered in this order of priority. Meeting a higher criterion beats meeting a lower one.

1. 1Looked after / previously looked after children — Children who are "looked after" (LAC) by a Local Authority at the time of application, and all "previously looked after" children (pLAC), including those who appear to have been in state care outside England (IApLAC) and ceased to be in state care having been adopted. Evidence will be requested.
2. 2Children of staff (max 3 per year group) — Up to a maximum of three children in a single year group with a parent who is a staff member at the academy (employed at the academy, not merely the Trust, for two or more years at the time of application, or recruited to fill a vacant post with a demonstrable skills shortage).
3. 3Catchment area + Cutteslowe Primary School — Children who live in the designated (catchment) area and attend Cutteslowe Primary School.
4. 4Wolvercote Primary School designated area — Children who live in the designated (catchment) area of Wolvercote Primary School (part of the designated area of the school).
5. 5Catchment area with sibling — Children who live in the designated (catchment) area and have a brother or sister on roll at the time of application who will still be attending at the time of entry.
6. 6Catchment area (general) — Children who live in the designated (catchment) area.
7. 7Outside catchment area, with sibling — Children living outside the designated area who have a brother or sister on roll at the time of application who will still be attending at the time of entry.
8. 8All other children — All other children not in the designated area and who also do not have a brother or sister on roll at the time of application who will still be attending at the time of entry.

If two applications tie: In all categories, priority is given first to children eligible for Service Pupil Premium, then to children living closest to the school by straight-line distance (Oxfordshire County Council calculation: from the Ordnance Survey "seed point" of the home address to the front door of the main Reception at South Site [Years 7-9] or North Site [Years 10-11], Pythagorean calculation, converted to miles to three decimal places). If the distance tie-break produces an identical result for two or more applicants at different addresses (and they are not children of a multiple birth), random allocation is used. Within the staff-children criterion specifically, if more than three staff children apply, priority goes first to the highest degree of demonstrable skills shortage, then to distance; once three staff places are filled, further staff children have no greater priority than other children.

Children with an EHC Plan naming the school in Section I must always be admitted; the document explicitly states "this is not an oversubscription criterion" (so it is not listed as a numbered criterion above). Sibling "time of entry" rule: there is no sibling connection for a Year 7 applicant with a sibling in Year 13, nor for one with a sibling in Year 11 unless there is an expressed intention for that sibling to continue into Year 12. Multiple births: if the last available place is allocated to one twin/multiple-birth child, the other(s) are also offered a place, exceeding the PAN if necessary. This document is explicitly scoped to "Year 7 to Year 11"; it does not cover sixth form admissions, so no Year 12 entry is given here. Named primary schools Cutteslowe Primary School and Wolvercote Primary School define catchment sub-areas (criteria 3-4) rather than being feeder schools open to all attendees regardless of address.

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.