Northampton 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 and Previously Looked After Children — All Looked After Children (LAC) and Previously Looked After Children (PLAC): children in the care of, or accommodated by, a local authority, or who immediately after being in care became subject to an adoption, child arrangements, or special guardianship order, including those who were in state care outside of England and ceased to be so as a result of being adopted. All children applying under this criterion are required to sit the Common Ability Test.
2. 2Free School Meals (FSM/FSM6) — Priority next given to 10% (22) children registered as eligible for Free School Meals (FSM) and children registered as eligible for Free School Meals at any point in the last six years (FSM6). Evidence of eligibility is obtained from the Local Authority after the closing date. Required to sit the Common Ability Test.
3. 3Children of staff — Priority next given to children of staff directly employed by The NSB Trust, where the staff member has worked at Northampton School as their primary place of work for two or more years at the time of application, and/or was recruited to fill a vacant post for which there is a demonstrable skill shortage. A 'direct employee' has two years continuous (or seasonal totalling two years) employment with the Trust; contracted-in service staff do not count. Required to sit the Common Ability Test.
4. 4Siblings — Priority next given to children with an elder brother or sister on roll and attending either Northampton School or Northampton School for Boys on the closing date for applications (31 October); allocated a place from the band in which they are placed by the Common Ability Test. Sibling includes step-, half-, adopted or fostered brother/sister living at the same address. Required to sit the Common Ability Test.
5. 5Aptitude (Performing Arts and Sport) — 10% (22) of the PAN allocated to children demonstrating aptitude in the school's specialist areas: Performing Arts (12 places: Music, Drama and Dance aptitude tests) and Sport (10 places), via aptitude tests taken before the application deadline. Required to also sit the Common Ability Test.
6. 6Catchment area — Children living within the defined catchment area (as mapped) at the closing date for application (31 October); proof of residence (a utility bill dated within the last 3 months) required and cross-referenced with the Local Authority. Required to sit the Common Ability Test.
7. 7Norm Referenced Banding (remaining places) — Any remaining places are allocated using Norm Referenced Banding as described in the DfE School Admissions Code. ALL applicants take the same Common Ability Test; scores are ranked and divided into five equal-sized ability bands (44 places per band, from the PAN of 220). An equal number of applicants is selected fairly from each band via a process supervised by an independent third party. Children who sit the test (or have an excused, evidenced non-attendance) are considered before those who do not; unexcused non-attendees are distributed evenly across the five bands, starting with band C, then A, E, B, D.

If two applications tie: Where criterion 2 (FSM) is oversubscribed, criteria 3, 4, 5 and 6 are applied first, then random allocation (supervised by an independent third party) decides remaining FSM places. Where criterion 5 (aptitude) is oversubscribed, the highest-scoring applicants are selected first (10 Sport, 12 Performing Arts), with random allocation for tied scores at the final place. Where criteria 3, 4 or 6 are oversubscribed, random allocation applies unless otherwise stated. For criterion 7, remaining places in each band are filled by statistically random, electronically generated, independently supervised order; if a band fills before criterion 7 is reached, random allocation is applied to whichever criterion would exceed that band's remaining places. In the case of twins or other multiple births, if one sibling is offered a place and another is not, the other(s) will be offered a place above the PAN of 220 (forfeited if the qualifying sibling withdraws).

Children with an EHC plan naming the school after LA consultation are admitted, reducing places available to others; not numbered within the 1-7 list so not included as a criterion. All applicants under any criterion must also submit a Northampton School Supplementary Information Form by 31 October 2026, in addition to the Local Authority Application Form. The main oversubscription list (criterion 5) states 10 Sport aptitude places, but Appendix B separately states 'There will be 9 places available under this criterion' for Sport; both figures are printed in the document and are transcribed as such, without reconciling the discrepancy. Northampton School is expected to become (subject to consultation confirmation) a feeder school for Northampton School for Boys Sixth Form, meaning its own Year 11 students apply onward there; this is a downstream link, not a named feeder INTO Northampton School, so is not listed under feeder_schools. The document's title year ('2026-27') refers to the admissions round/administrative year; the entry cohort is explicitly 'Admission to Year 7 in September 2027'.

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.