St Edward's Church of England Academy

When there are more applications than places for 2027-28 (Year 5), places are offered in this order of priority. Meeting a higher criterion beats meeting a lower one.

1. 1Children in care / previously in care — Children in care and children who ceased to be in care because they were adopted (or became subject to a residence order or special guardianship order) 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. 2Medical/exceptional circumstances plus hardship test — Children who satisfy both of the following tests: Test 1: The child is distinguished from the great majority of other applicants either on their own medical grounds or by other exceptional circumstances. Medical grounds must be supported by a medical report (obtained by the applicant and provided at the point of application). This report must clearly justify, for health reasons only, why it is better for the child’s health to attend the Academy rather than any other school. Exceptional circumstances must relate to the choice of school and the individual child, i.e. the circumstances of the child, not the economic or social circumstances of the parent/carer. They should be supported by a professional report (obtained by the applicant and provided at the point of application), e.g. social worker. This report must clearly justify why it is better for the child to attend the Academy rather than any other school and: Test 2: The child would suffer hardship if they were unable to attend the Academy. Hardship means severe suffering of any kind, not merely difficulty or inconvenience, which is likely to be experienced as a result of the child attending a different school. Applicants must provide detailed information about both the type and severity of any likely hardship at the time of application.
3. 3Children living within the catchment area — Children living within the catchment area of the Academy.
4. 4Siblings attending the Academy — Children who have an elder sibling in attendance at the Academy and who will still be attending the school at the proposed admission date; (for admission purposes, a brother or sister is a child who lives at the same address and either: have one or both natural parents in common; are related by a parent’s marriage; are adopted or fostered by a common parent or are unrelated children who live at the same address, whose parents live as partners.
5. 5Pupils attending named Linked Schools — Pupils currently attending one of our named "Linked Schools", these being Westwood First School (Leek), Woodcroft First School (Leek), All Saints First School (Leek), and St Edward’s First School (Cheddleton). Linked schools are all equal; there is no order of priority.
6. 6Distance from Academy (or church if in Cheddleton) — For all other applications, and in the event of oversubscription in any category, priority will be given to the child based on distance as follows: For those living in, or nearer to, Leek, the distance will be measured by a direct line from the front door of the child’s home address (including flats) to the main entrance of the Academy, using the Local Authority’s computerised measuring system. Those living closer to the Academy (or, if located in Cheddleton, the church) will receive higher priority.

If two applications tie: If we cannot distinguish between applicants using the criteria listed, such as in the case of children who live in the same block of flats, then the child or children who will be offered the available spaces will be randomly selected. This process will be independently verified.

EHCP: Pupils will be given priority if their statutory EHCP names the Academy as the most appropriate mainstream school that meets the pupil’s needs (statutory duty, not ranked). PAN for Sept 2027 not given as a fixed number; document states a consultation is planned to reduce PAN to 180 effective 1 Sept 2027, with consultation running 3 Nov 2025 to 14 Dec 2025. CATCHMENT: Children living within the catchment area of the Academy. Transcribed from the school's own determined admission arrangements as published by Staffordshire County Council. Children with an EHCP naming the school are admitted first; that is a statutory duty, 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.