Admissions

Introduction

The School’s admissions requirements are summarised below:

The full version of our admissions policy can be found in "Going to School in Lincolnshire" and is also available from the School on request. The King’s School is a popular selective boys’ grammar school attracting students from a large number of schools. For parents who are considering entry to the school for their son in September 2010 there will be an open evening on 29 June 2009. This is for parents and boys to attend. Parents whose sons have special needs should inform the School at the time of registration for the tests so that every effort can be made to accommodate these needs if they might affect a candidate’s performance in the tests. Parents also need to inform the school if English is not their son's first language.

The school’s Published Admissions Number (PAN) is 140. This is the maximum number of students to be admitted in any year of entry.

Examination is by two NFER tests (Verbal Reasoning and Non-Verbal Reasoning) which form the Lincolnshire Grammar Schools Consortium Examination (“the examination”), the results of which determine the minimum entrance requirement (“the minimum standard”). These tests may only be taken once in an academic year and cannot be retaken during the same school year if the candidate is to be considered for a place at a grammar school which is a member of the Lincolnshire Consortium. NFER Practice papers for the 11+ tests can be purchased online from www.gl-assessment.co.uk or from W H Smith.

Attainment of the minimum standard will not in itself result in the offer of a place at the school but will enable a boy to be considered for a place at the school in accordance with the admissions criteria set out below.

Lincolnshire County Council publishes full information on the coordinated process leading to admissions to Year 7. This is available online at www.lincolnshire.gov.uk/schooladmissions, or by telephoning 01522 552222.

Any applications received by the Local Authority after the closing date will normally be considered only after those received by the closing date. Parents/carers are, therefore, encouraged to ensure that their application is received on time.

Allocation of places

These will be awarded according to the rank order of the results achieved in the examination, subject to the following:

1. A preference for the school must have been expressed on the application sent to the candidate's local authority.

2. A candidate must achieve at least the minimum standard for entry in the examination.

3. In accordance with the code of practice for Special Educational Needs the allocation of school places for pupils with a statement of special educational needs will take place before the school allocates other places as part of the normal admissions process.

4. If more candidates achieve the minimum standard than there are places available, the following over-subscription criteria will apply in order:

a) places will be awarded to candidates in the care of the Local Authority who have achieved the qualifying score;

b) places will then be awarded in rank score order to the number of students intended to admit.

The Local Authority will be notified of the rank score order of candidates who have expressed a preference for The King’s School so that it can decide whether to offer a place on the basis of satisfying the highest preference of school indicated by the candidate on the Local Authority’s application form. Places will be offered by allocating boys in descending score order from the score order list, if they have not already been offered a place at a higher preference school, until all 140 places are filled.

In the event of a tie for the final place(s), the following criterion will apply:

Distance from home to school measured in a straight line by Microsoft MapPoint software between the post office address point of the home and the post office address point of the school.

Right of Appeal

Parents/carers of any student who is not offered a place at the school have the right to appeal to an independent panel whose decision to uphold or reject the appeal will be binding on both the school and the appellant. The school will provide parents/carers with the appropriate paperwork for the appeal. This can be obtained by writing to the Clerk to the Governors at the school address.

Reserve Lists

In the event that the school is unable to admit all candidates who achieve the minimum standard a reserve list will be drawn up with candidates ranked according to the school’s oversubscription criteria. This means that places on the waiting list will be allocated in exactly the same way as places at the school. This list will be maintained until 30 April of Year 7, after which candidates will sit the school’s own entrance tests. The length of time that a candidate’s name remains on the waiting list will be irrelevant to the decision to offer a place or not.

How to apply for a place

Parents who wish to enter their son for the 11+ entrance tests should register with The King’s School in the summer term when their son is in Year 5 or before the date of the first entrance test in September, when their son is in Year 6 (see registration form which can be downloaded). This does not constitute an application for a place at the school. All applications for places must be submitted by parents or carers on the Common Application Form (CAF) of their home Local Authority (LA).

Late applications for entry into Year 7

Late applications can be made while a candidate is in Year 6 of primary education or while Year 7 is in progress.

Candidates in Year 6 will take the two NFER tests which form the Examination. Candidates who achieve the minimum standard will (depending on the degree of lateness of the application) either:

a. be considered for entry by the school’s admissions committee at the same time as other candidates if the school’s admissions committee has not yet met following the main Lincolnshire grammar schools’ examination; or

b. be considered for entry if there are still places available after 1 March (the date that offers are made); or

c. be placed on the reserve list, if all the places have been filled.

Candidates who apply while in Year 7 will be required to take a nationally standardised test. Those who achieve the qualifying score will either:

a. be offered a place if there are still places available; or

b. be placed on the reserve list, if all the places have been filled.

N.B. Candidates who took the 11+ tests while in Year 6 and who did not achieve the qualifying score cannot apply for a late entry into Year 7 but may apply for entry into Year 8.

Admission post 11+

Applicants for entry into Years 8-11 will be required to take a nationally standardised test to assess their suitability for admission to the school. The school will make appropriate arrangements for those candidates whose first language is not English.

The parents/carers of any applicant who is not offered a place have the right to appeal to an independent panel whose decision will be binding on both the school and the appellant.

Admission to the Sixth Form

1. The school’s Published Admissions Number (PAN) is 30. This is the maximum number of places which will be available in Year 12 for candidates who have attended schools other than The King’s School in Year 11. The criteria for admission to the Sixth Form will be:

a) 6 GCSE passes at Grade C or better, with Grade B or better in at least 3 subjects;

b) a viable programme of study of either 3 or more GCE AS Level subjects (excluding General Studies) or an Advanced Diploma plus one GCE AS Level subject.

2. If there are more applicants than places, places will be offered on the basis of overall GCSE performance calculated on a points system where A* = 58 points, A = 52 points, B = 46 points, C = 40 points, D = 34 points, E = 28 points, F = 22 points, G = 16 points, subject to the following:

a) an applicant must meet the standards outlined in paragraph 1 above

b) priority will be given to candidates in the care of the local authority.

In the event of a tie for the final place the following criterion will apply; distance from home to school measured in a straight line by Microsoft MapPoint software between the post office address point of the home and the post office address point of the school.

3. If there are more applicants than places available in a particular AS Level subject, places in that subject will be allocated according to the following criteria in the order shown:

a) GCSE grade in that subject (where applicable);

b) Overall GCSE score (in terms of average points per subject entry).

4. Any student who is refused entry to Year 12 from Year 11 will have the right to appeal to an independent panel whose decision to uphold or reject the appeal will be binding on both the school and the appellant.

Please note the following:

The admissions policy relating to the relevant year group will apply. Please contact the school office for details.

Appendix: Definitions

Child in public care (“looked after”)

The school will take account only of the address at which the candidate for entry is resident at the time of application. Where a family has two or more places of residence, the school will use the address where the candidate is habitually and normally resident on the date of the last day for the submission of Lincolnshire preference forms (for 11+ candidates). Where a parent/carer wishes the school to consider a prospective address, in the case of people moving into the area, the school will do so after a binding legal agreement has been entered into, e.g. exchange of contracts, signing of a tenancy agreement.

• 2011 Key Dates for 11+
• 11+ Registrations Form 2011
• Registration form for 2010 admission
• 2010 Admission Timetable