Admissions
St. Joseph’s R.C. High School and Sports College is a Roman Catholic Secondary School provided by the Diocese of Salford and is maintained by the Bolton Local Authority as a Voluntary Aided School. Our Governing Body is the Admissions Authority and is responsible for taking decisions on applications for admissions.
The Governors recognise that the first responsibility of the school is to serve the Roman Catholic community for which it has been established. This is focused on designated parish communities and the Roman Catholic primary schools that are partners in providing for those communities. In establishing our over subscription criteria the governors have also taken full account of the Code of Practice produced by the Department for Children, Schools and Families and the emphasis placed on supporting children in public care.
The parish communities served by the school are:
St. Mary’s, Horwich
Sacred Heart, Westhoughton
Our Lady’s, Aspull
Holy Family, New Springs
St. Joseph’s, Anderton
The associated primary schools are:
St. Mary’s, Horwich
Sacred Heart, Westhoughton
Our Lady’s, Aspull
Holy Family, New Springs
St. Joseph’s, Anderton
St. Bernard’s, Ladybridge
Admission to the school will be made by the Governing Body subject to the following set of criteria which will be used to form a priority order if there are more applications for admission than the school has places available:
- Roman Catholic Looked After Children
- Roman Catholic children who are resident in one of the parishes named above and who attend one of the associated primary schools.
- Roman Catholic children not living in one of the parishes named above but who attend one of the associated primary schools.
- Roman Catholic children who live in one of the parishes named above, and who attend a Roman Catholic primary school.
- Roman Catholic children who have a brother or sister [See note (iii)] attending the school at the time the admission would take effect
- Roman Catholic children who are resident in one of the parishes named above, and who attend a non-Roman Catholic primary school.
- Roman Catholic children who attend a Roman Catholic primary school.
- Other Roman Catholic children.
- Non-Catholic Looked After Children.
- Non-Catholic children attending an associated Catholic primary school.
- Other children.
Decisions on admission to the school in Year 7 will be made in accordance with the above criteria at a special meeting of the Admissions Panel of the Governing Body. The meeting will consider all applications and information received by that date. Any subsequent applications, or applications referred to the Governors at a later date, will be considered by the Governors according to the Admissions Criteria, but in the light of whether any places remain available.
If in any category there are more applications than places available, priority will be given on the basis of proximity to the school. The shortest walking distance from the front door of the applicant’s address to the main entrance door of the school by the safest route will be the deciding factor in these cases.
Parents who change address before their child takes up the place allocated and who would consequently prefer a different school should inform the Children’s Services Department of the Local Authority immediately. If the move has not been completed, supporting evidence such as a solicitor’s letter or a letter from the Housing Department will be needed.
The Governing Body reserve the right to admit children with proven and exceptional medical and social needs where admission to the school might best help satisfy those exceptional needs, providing that such application is submitted with appropriate evidence from a doctor, social worker or qualified professional indicating why St. Joseph’s is most suitable.
A Baptised Roman Catholic pupil already in secondary education who has been permanently excluded from another Roman Catholic school within the Local Authority may be admitted by the Governors after detailed consideration of the circumstances surrounding the case, mindful of the procedures for pupil placement currently in place in the Local Authority.
Notes
Parents should check carefully whether they are resident within the parish boundary of one of the parishes named above. (Maps illustrating these boundaries are available in the information provided by the primary schools).
The Governors define a “Roman Catholic child” as one who has received the Roman Catholic Sacrament of Baptism, or who has been subsequently received into the Roman Catholic Church. The Governors reserve the right to require a baptismal certificate.
The Governors accept that in some family units (one or two adults and children) the children may not be natural brother and/or sister. Older children can be considered to ‘qualify’ a younger child under the sibling link in category 5 of the criteria provided proof is available to demonstrate that the children are permanently resident at the same address and are part of the same family unit.
Where a child lives with parents with shared responsibility each for part of the week, the ‘home’ address will be considered to be the address named in any residence order, or where no such order exists the address at which the child resides for the majority of the week.
If an application for admission has been turned down by the Governing Body, parents can appeal to an Independent Appeals Panel according to procedures laid down by the Local Authority.