Admissions Arrangements 2024-25

Please note that within these criteria the term parent is used to refer to parents or legal  guardians.  

Children and young people will be admitted without reference to ability or aptitude. The Public  Admissions Number (PAN) for Year 7 commencing September 2024 will be 165.  

Before the application of oversubscription criteria, children with a statement of Special  Educational Need or Education, Health and Care Plan which names the school will be  admitted. As a result of this, the PAN will be reduced accordingly.  

Where applications for admission exceed the number of places available, the following criteria  will be applied, in the order set out below, to decide which children to admit.  

1. Children in Local Authority Care
   Children in Local Authority Care or Previously in Local Authority Care – A looked after child is  a child who is (a) in the care of a local authority, or (b) being provided with accommodation by  a local authority in the exercise of their social services functions (see the definition in Section  22(1) of the Children Act 1989) at the time of making an application to a school. 
   A previously looked after child means such children who were adopted (or subject to child  arrangements orders or special guardianship orders) immediately following having been  looked after and 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.
   A child is regarded as having been in state care outside of England if they were in the care of  or were accommodated by a public authority, a religious organisation, or any other provider of  care whose sole or main purpose is to benefit society. 

2. Sibling / Current Family Association
   Children with a sibling attending the school at the time of application. Sibling is defined in  these arrangements as children who live as brother or sister in the same house, including  natural brothers or sisters, adopted siblings, stepbrothers or sisters and foster brothers and  sisters.

3. Health and Special Access Reasons
   Health and Special Access Reasons – Medical, health, social and special access reasons will  be applied in accordance with the school’s legal obligations, in particular those under the Equality Act 2010. Priority will be given to those children whose mental or physical impairment  means they have a demonstrable and significant need to attend a particular school. Equally  this priority will apply to children whose parents’/guardians’ physical or mental health or social  needs mean that they have a demonstrable and significant need to attend a particular school.  Such claims will need to be supported by written evidence from a suitably qualified medical or  other practitioner who can demonstrate a special connection between these needs and Hugh  Christie School.  

4. Distance / Nearness of children’s home to school
   Child’s home address – A child’s home address is considered to be a residential property that is the child’s only or  main residence (not an address at which the child may sometimes stay or sleep) and which is  either owned by the child’s parent, parents or guardian or leased or rented to them under a  lease or written rental agreement. Where partners live apart but share responsibility for the  child, and the child lives at two different addresses during the week, we will regard the home  address as the one at which the child sleeps for the majority of week days.
   We use the distance between the child’s permanent home address and the school, measured  in a straight line using the National Land and Property Gazetteer (NPLG) address point data.  Distances are measured from a point defined as within the child’s home to a point defined as within the school as specified by NPLG. The same address point on the school site is used for  everybody, these straight line measurements are used to determine how close each  applicant’s address is to the school. In the event of any of the above criteria being  oversubscribed, priority will be given based on distance as described above with those closest  being given higher priority. In the unlikely event that two or more children in all other ways  have equal eligibility for the last available place at the school, the names will be issued a  number and drawn randomly to decide which child should be given the place. 
   If siblings from multiple births (twins, triplets, etc) apply for a school and the school would  reach its PAN after admitting one or more, but before admitting all of those siblings, the school  will offer a place to each of the siblings, even if doing so takes the school above its PAN.  

General 

After a place has been offered the school reserves the right to withdraw the place in the  following circumstances: 

• i) when a parent has failed to respond to an offer within a reasonable time or
• ii) when a parent has failed to notify the school of important changes to the application information; or 
• iii) the admission authority offered the place on the basis of a fraudulent or intentionally misleading application from a parent.

The school will establish arrangements for appeals against non-admission which will include an  independent element. Details of the arrangements for admissions and appeals will be published  each year. 

Admissions to the school will be based on the above criteria. Initially admissions in any year  will be dealt with by an admissions panel consisting of Governors and teachers. Any appeals  will be dealt with by the Appeals Committee. 

In Year Casual Admissions to Years 7 to 11  

Applications for In Year Casual Admissions to Years 7 to 11 should be made on the form  available to download from Kent County Council. 

Kent County Council In Year Admissions Form

Application forms should be sent directly to the Admissions Officer at Hugh Christie School. The PAN for all year groups is 165. 

In the event places are not available, applicants will be placed on a waiting list held by the  school and ordered according to the oversubscription criteria 1 to 4 above. 

Admission of children outside their normal age group  

Families may seek a place for their child outside of his/her normal age group under various  circumstances such as ill health, if the child is gifted and talented or when the child has  experienced problems. 

Admissions for post 16 education  

All students wishing to transfer from Year 11 to Year 12 are required to complete their  application through UCAS Progress (or the equivalent Hugh Christie School application  system in place for 2024).  

Priority will be given to existing students transferring from Year 11. The PAN for external  candidates (including those from overseas) will be 25. This figure may be exceeded in the  event that this and the number of internal students transferring into Year 12 is less than the  overall total figure for the year group which is 165. In the event that the number exceeds 165,  the oversubscription criteria above will also apply.  

The Sixth Form curriculum includes a number of pathways with their own separate entry  criteria requirements. These are published as part of the school’s Sixth Form Prospectus on  an annual basis.