Admissions
The school wishes parents to know as much as possible about opportunities available at Sheldon so they can make informed decisions regarding their child's future secondary education. To this end, the school welcomes contact with parents and children prior to application for admission to Year 7 in the following ways:
two Open Days in June/July of the year preceding admission
an Open Evening in September/October of the year preceding admission
At least one day's visit is available to all the Year 5 and/or Year 6 primary classes of the schools that are within the area outlined in criteria c) and d) of the admissions policy. Such visits take place during the academic year preceding admission. Parents of children in other schools can book taster days here.
Sheldon operates an 'Open Door' policy to parents wishing to visit and tour the school on an individual basis. Parents need only telephone the school to arrange an appointment.
Admissions criteria for the school 2009-10
The Published Admission Number (PAN) is 280.
Sheldon is a comprehensive school; pupils will be admitted without reference to ability, aptitude or culture.
Over-Subscription Criteria
The following criteria will be applied to all applications, in the order set out below, to decide which children to admit in the event of oversubscription:
a) "Looked After Children", as defined by section 22 of the Children's Act 1989;
b) where a child has a brother* or sister* currently in the school;
c) children living in or attending primary schools in the civil parishes of Acton Turville, Biddestone, Castle Combe, Christian Malford, Colerne, Grittleton, Kington Langley, Kington St Michael, Lacock, Langley Burrell Without, Marshfield, Nettleton and Burton, North Wraxall, Seagry, Stanton St Quintin, Sutton Benger, Yatton Keynell, the part of the civil parish of Bremhill which is west of the Old Canal, and the part of the civil parish of Calne Without which is west of Bowood House;
d) children resident or attending primary schools in the civil parishes Chippenham and Chippenham Without;
e) where there are medical grounds for admitting the child. These must supported by a doctor's report explaining why Sheldon is the most suitable school for the child;
f) children resident and attending primary school outside the areas specified in c) and d)
g) in the event of a "tie" under any single criterion, allocation of a place will be decided firstly by application of the subsequent criteria, and secondly by the proximity of the child's home to the school's main entrance as measured by a straight line, with those nearer accorded the higher priority.
[A map of the areas defined in c) and d) is available on request at the school.]
* Brother or sister is defined to include adopted siblings, half-siblings and step-siblings; but only if the siblings in question are resident in the same household.
Waiting List
In the event of oversubscription, a waiting list will be maintained, ranked according to the criteria set out above. Applicants will join the waiting list according to these criteria regardless of the order in which the applications are received. When a place becomes available, it will be allocated to the child at the top of the waiting list.
Likelihood of gaining a place
In recent years when the school has been over-subscribed, all applicants meeting the over-subscription criteria b), c) and d) have been able to gain a place at Sheldon and most applicants from outside the defined areas have also been successful. However, for admissions in 2008 a few children meeting criterion d) were unsuccessful.
Applications for school places outside the normal admissions round
If applications are received for admission to Years 7-11 beyond the normal transfer age, Governors will first consider whether places are available up to the year group's Published Admissions Number. If available places remain oversubscribed, applicants will join the waiting list according to the criteria described above.
Admission of children of UK Service personnel and other Crown servants (including Diplomats) outside the normal admissions round
Families of UK Service personnel and other Crown servants are subject to frequent movement within the UK and from abroad, often at relatively short notice. Places will be allocated to children and their families in advance of the approaching school year if accompanied by an official MOD, FCO or GCHQ letter declaring a relocation date. Such places will be allocated according to the criteria outlined above. A Unit postal address will be acceptable in the absence of a new home postal address. Sheldon will be willing to notify parents of results of such applications by e-mail or fax, where this is acceptable to the applicant, especially when families are still abroad.
Applications from twins and other multiple births
Sheldon will admit a twin (or other sibling from a multiple birth) even if this takes the number of admissions over the PAN, but only if to do otherwise would result in such siblings being separated.
Admission to the Sixth Form
There is no limit on places in the sixth form for students completing year 11 at Sheldon. There will be a minimum of 30 places available to students applying from other schools. Where there is capacity to accept additional students on courses, additional students may be admitted. If this is not the case and there is over-subscription from students who meet the minimum entry requirements below, the over-subscription criteria above will be applied.
The Sheldon Sixth Form currently offers advanced courses. The minimum entry requirement to the sixth form is five or more A* to C grades at GCSE. For admission to some A level courses, additional GCSE requirements apply. Such course requirements are published in the Sheldon Sixth Form prospectus. Applicants to course programmes mainly comprising vocational or applied A levels may be accepted with three or four suitable A* to C grades.
Right of Appeal
Parents have the right to appeal to an independent admissions panel if their child is not offered a place at Sheldon. Details of this process are available from Lyn Shepherd, Office Manager, at the school. The appeals process is straightforward and non-confrontational and the panel is completely independent of the school.
Deadline
The deadline for applications for places at Sheldon in year 7 in September 2009 is 17 October 2008 at noon. Applications are possible after this date, but they will be treated as late admissions under Wiltshire’s agreed procedures.
Where to apply
Applications within the normal admissions round for entry into year 7 are made through the co-ordinated admission system of the local authority in which a family lives (e.g. Wiltshire, South Gloucestershire).
Applications outside this co-ordinated process, for entry into other years including year 12, should be made directly to Sheldon School.