This is the co-ordinated admissions scheme for secondary schools in the area of City of York Local Authority (LA) for the 2009/2010 school year

The Scheme

1. There will be a standard form known as the common application form.
2. The form will be used for the purpose of admitting pupils into the first year of secondary education.
3. The form must be used as a means of expressing one or more references by parents resident in the City of York LA area wishing to express a preference for their child –
   a) to be admitted to a school within the LA area (including Voluntary Aided School)
   b) to be admitted to a school located in another LA’s area (including Voluntary Aided Schools)
4. The form will:
   a) invite parents to express in rank order up to five preferences,including Voluntary  Aided schools and any schools outside the LA.
   b) invite parents to give their reasons for each preference
   c) explain that the parent will receive no more than one offer of a school place and that;
   i) a place will be offered at the highest ranking nominated school for which they are eligible for a place and that;
   ii)  if a place cannot be offered at a nominated school, a place will be offered at an alternative school.
5. The LA will make appropriate arrangements to ensure that the form is available on request and take all reasonable steps to ensure that every parent resident in the LA area who has a child in the last year of primary education receives a copy of the form with written explanation.
6. All preferences expressed on the form are valid applications.  Voluntary Aided Schools can require parents who nominate their school to complete a supplementary form or provide additional information  where this is required for the governing body to apply their oversubscription criteria to the applicant.  The supplementary form, if required must be returned to the school.
   Where a Voluntary Aided School receives a supplementary form from a City of York resident it will not be regarded as a valid application unless the parent has completed the common application form and the school is nominated on it.
7. The closing date for applications is 15 November 2008.  Completed forms can be returned to the LA via a pupils primary school.
8. The LA will act as a clearing house for the allocation of places by the relevant admission authorities in response to the common application form.  The LA will only make a decision with respect to the offer or refusal of a place in response to any preference expressed on the common application form where –
   a) it is acting in its separate capacity as an admission authority, or
   b) an applicant is eligible for a place at more than one school, or
   c) an applicant is not eligible for a place at any school that the parent has nominated.
9. By 5 December 2008 where parents have nominated a school outside the LA area, the LA will notify the relevant authority / authorities, including all relevant details and any supplementary form received by this date which schools require in order to apply their oversubscription criteria.
10. By the 19 January 2009 the admission authority for each school will consider all applications for their school, apply the schools oversubscription criteria (if appropriate) and provide the LA with a list of those applicants ranked according to the schools oversubscription criteria.
11. The LA will match this ranked list against the ranked lists of the other schools nominated and;
    i) Where the child is eligible for a place at only one of the nominated schools, that school will be allocated to the child
    ii) Where the child is eligible for a place at two or more of the nominated schools, they will be allocated a place at whichever of these schools is the highest ranked preference.
    Where the child is not eligible for a place at any of the nominated schools, the child will be allocated a place at the nearest appropriate school with a vacancy.
12. By 13 February 2009 the LA will inform other LA’s of places in City of York schools to be offered to their residents and on 24 February 2009 it will inform its secondary schools of the pupils to be offered a place at their schools.
13. On 2 March 2009 all parents will be notified of which school their child has been offered a place and information about their statutory right of appeal against the decision to refuse places at other nominated schools including Voluntary Aided and other LA’s schools.
14. The closing date for applications is 15 November 2008.  The LA will accept late applications up to 31 December 2008  for parents who have a good reason for submitting their form late, for example if the family have moved into the City of York area.