Admissions & Appeals
We look forward to welcoming you and child to St Peter's School and hope you will find the following information of assistance.
St Peter’s is a religious school serving the Catholic community across parts of Hampshire and Dorset, and whilst it prioritises children who have been Baptised Catholic, applications from other faith and non faith families are warmly welcomed.
If you wish to apply for a place in our Primary or Secondary Phase, you must make the application through your local council (where you pay your Council Tax). Most applicants will come under BCP Council using the following link – Applying for a school place
If you are applying under any of our religious categories please read the ‘Documentation Required in Support of Application’ section of the Admissions Policy.
Please send all completed Year R and Year 7 2022 SIF forms directly to Claire Botto, Admissions Officer, St Peter's School, St Catherine's Road, Bournemouth BH6 4AH.
From Monday 27 September original Baptism/Holy communion certificates must be presented to the school. We can no longer accept copies after this date.
You may find the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) of use. If you still have any queries about the admissions process please email our Admissions Officer at admissions@st-peters.bournemouth.sch.uk
Should you wish to join our Sixth Form you apply directly here. Sixth Form applications open in October and close in January.
Please note on 19 July 2021 the Governing Board approved a variation to the Admissions Policies 2021-22 and 2022-23 following a change to the Admissions Code. Full details can be found below.
Admissions 2022-2023
If you wish to apply to join St Peter's in September 2022, please refer to the appropriate policy below
Primary Admissions Policy | Primary Supplementary Information Form (SIF) |
Secondary Admissions Policy | Secondary Supplementary Information Form (SIF) |
Sixth Form Admissions Policy |
All Primary and Secondary applications must be made to Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole (BCP) Council. For Primary and Secondary apply here. For Sixth Form apply here.
Admissions 2023-2024
If you wish to apply to join St Peter's in September 2023, please refer to the appropriate policy below
Primary Admissions Policy | Primary Supplementary Information Form (SIF) |
Secondary Admissions Policy | Secondary Supplementary Information Form (SIF) |
Sixth Form Admissions Policy |
Variation to the Admissions Arrangements
It is a legal requirement that an Admissions Authority gives notice of any proposed variations to its admissions arrangements.
Following the granting of parliamentary approval to the Admissions Code 2021*, the Governing Board of St Peter’s Catholic Voluntary Academy Trust (as its own Admissions Authority) hereby gives notice of a proposed variation to the determined Admissions Policy for September 2021-22 and 2022-23.
This variation was approved by the Board of Governors on 19 July 2021. A consultation is not required for the purposes of this amendment, but we offer notice of the following changes-
- Giving the same priority to children who have been adopted from state care outside of England (IAPLAC) as to Previously Looked After (PLAC)
- The 2021 School Admissions Code requires 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- to be given equal first priority in admission arrangements, alongside looked after children (LAC) and children who were previously looked after by English local authorities (PLAC). These children are referred to as internationally adopted previously looked after children – “IAPLAC”.
- It is therefore intended to extend the highest admissions priority to IAPLAC by including Catholic IAPLAC applicants in Category 1 and other IAPLAC applicants in Category 3.
- The definition of previously looked after children within the Admissions Policy will therefore be amended to include those children who appear (to the Governing Board) to have been in state care outside of England and ceased to be in state care as a result of being adopted.
- Catholic Faith applicants who provide the required Baptismal Certificate before the published submission deadline will be treated as falling into that category regardless of the submission of a Supplementary Information Form (SIF) detailing evidence of practice of the faith.
- Paragraph 2.4 of 2021 School Admissions Code states that an applicant must not be given additional priority solely on the basis of having completed a supplementary form. (SIF).
- If an applicant has provided the Baptismal Certificate but no SIF they will fall into the faith category but will rank below applicants who have submitted a SIF.
The revised Admissions Policy and associated Supplementary Information Form for September 2021-22 and September 2022-23 admissions years will be published to view on the school website. Hard copies can be obtained from the school office on request.
N Sharp, Chair of Governing Board, St Peter’s Catholic Voluntary Academy Trust
*Regulation 19 of the School Admissions Regulations 2012.
(1) This regulation prescribes for the purposes of section 88E(9)(b) the circumstances in which an admission authority may vary the admission arrangements they have determined for a particular academic year.
(2) An admission authority may vary the admission arrangements under which pupils are to be admitted to school to the extent that such variation is necessary to give effect to any of the following— (a) the School Admissions Code.
APPEALS
If you are unsuccessful in your application for your child to attend St Peter’s School please be aware that you have a statutory right to appeal against the decision not to offer a place.
Please read the Frequently Asked Questions and guidance issued by BCP and if feel you have sufficient grounds, please complete the appropriate appeal form via the link below including any supporting documentation you wish to be taken into consideration.
GENERAL
- In line with the Covid-19 legislation, all appeals lodged before 30 September 2022 are being heard based on written information only.
- Appeals lodged after these dates will be heard as soon as reasonably practicable.
- You will receive at least 14 calendar days’ notice of your appeal hearing date.
- Appeals are heard during the daytime on weekdays and are not heard during school holidays.
- Where there are multiple appeals for places at the same school, the hearings may go over a number of days.
- The school’s case will be made available to parents and Panel members at least 7 calendar days before the start of the appeal hearing.
- The Panel will set a deadline for any additional evidence to be received.
- Following the hearing, decision letters will be sent, where possible, within 7 calendar days of the end of the hearing. During busy periods, such as main entry, full decision letters may take longer than this, so the Clerk will send a brief decision summary email in the interim.
- Appeal hearings for in-year places will be heard as soon as reasonably practicable, based on written information only.
APPEALS FOR ENTRY TO YEAR 7 SEPTEMBER 2022 (including timetable)
Please refer to the following link Frequently Asked Questions document which should hopefully answer any question you might have as to any possible next steps.
If having read the document, you believe you have grounds to appeal against the decision not to offer a place to your child, you can appeal online here.
The appeal hearing will take place virtually and the final decision of the Panel is legally binding on all parties.
If you are unable to access either the Frequently Asked Questions or the appeals form, a copy of either can be made available from the School.
YEAR 7 APPEALS TIMETABLE 2022 | |
---|---|
Offer letters posted to parents/carers on National Offer Day by Local Authority |
1 March 2022 |
Deadline for acceptance of offer by parent/carer |
15 March 2022 |
Deadline for lodging an on-time admission appeal | 1 April 2022 |
Appeal Hearing Dates | Between 5 May – 30 June 2022 |
APPEALS FOR ENTRY TO RECEPTION SEPTEMBER 2022 (including timetable)
Please refer to the following link Frequently Asked Questions document which should hopefully answer any question you might have as to any possible next steps.
If having read the document, you believe you have grounds to appeal against the decision not to offer a place to your child, you can appeal online here.
Infant class sizes for Reception, Year 1 or Year 2 are limited to no more than 30 pupils. An appeal for an infant class where an extra child would take the class over 30 pupils will only be allowed in exceptional circumstances, as the powers of the Appeal Panel are limited by legislation.
The appeal hearing will take place virtually and the final decision of the Panel is legally binding on all parties.
If you are unable to access either the Frequently Asked Questions or the appeals form, a copy of either can be made available from the School.
RECEPTION APPEALS TIMETABLE 2022 | |
---|---|
Offer letters posted to parents/carers on National Offer Day by Local Authority |
19 April 2022 |
Deadline for acceptance of offer By parent/carer |
3 May 2022 |
Deadline for lodging an on-time admission appeal | 18 May 2022 |
Appeal Hearing Dates | Between 20 June – 30 July |
IN-YEAR ADMISSIONS & IN-YEAR APPEALS 2021-2022
You can change your child's school during the academic year if:
• You have recently moved to the area
• You are not happy with your child's current school
STEP ONE — Contact Admissions at BCP Council
To change your child's school during the academic year, you will need to make an in-year application online with Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole (BCP) Council regardless of your current address.
To apply online with BCP Council please apply here
For Sixth Form apply here
STEP TWO — Contact Admissions at St Peter’s Catholic School
If your child falls into one of our faith categories in addition to completing the in-year application with BCP council, you will also need to complete a 2021-2022 Supplementary Information Form (SIF) which you should return to us directly, along with your child’s original baptism or Holy communion certificate.
Primary Supplementary Information Form (SIF) 2021/2022
Secondary Supplementary Information Form (SIF) 2021/2022
Once the above steps have been completed, you will be informed whether there is a space available for your child. If not, you will be placed on our waiting list, and contacted if a space becomes available.
In order for your child to remain on the waiting list for 2022-2023 you will need to reapply from 1 May 2022, repeating steps one and two above (with Primary 2022-2023 SIF or Secondary 2022-2023 SIF form). You will not need to supply certificates again.
For more information please refer to the appropriate policy below
Primary Admissions Policy 2021-2022
Secondary Admissions Policy 2021-2022
Sixth Form Admissions Policy 2021-2022
STEP THREE — If you are refused a place and wish to appeal
Please refer to the following link Frequently Asked Questions document which should hopefully answer any question you might have as to any possible next steps.
If having read the document, you believe you have grounds to appeal against the decision not to offer a place to your child, you can appeal online here.
Infant class sizes for Reception, Year 1 or Year 2 are limited to no more than 30 pupils. An appeal for an infant class where an extra child would take the class over 30 pupils will only be allowed in exceptional circumstances, as the powers of the Appeal Panel are limited by legislation.
The appeal hearing will take place virtually and the final decision of the Panel is legally binding on all parties.
If you are unable to access either the Frequently Asked Questions or the appeals form, a copy of either can be made available from the School.