Year 7 September 2024 Admissions

To apply for a place in Year 7 in 2024, parents/carers will need to apply through the Cambridgeshire County Council admissions process (families living outside of Cambridgeshire need to apply via their own local authority). All parents/carers are required to complete the Local Authority Common Preference Form in accordance with the established timelines. Further details, application forms and information on applying for a secondary school place can be found on the Cambridgeshire County Council website. 

Queries should be directed to Cambridgeshire County Council's Admissions Team on 01223 699200 or 01223 699662.

If once you have received notification from the local authority, your child has been unsuccessful in obtaining a place at the Thomas Clarkson Academy, you are entitled to appeal that decision. If you wish to appeal, please visit our appeal section for more information. 

See BWT's Admission Policy for 2024/25 at the bottom of this page.

The published admission number for the school for the Year 7 intake is 240.

The Brooke Weston Trust will consider all applications for places. Where fewer than 240 applications are received, the Trust will offer places to all those who have applied. When more than 240 applications are received and after the applicants with an EHC Plan where Thomas Clarkson Academy is named as the appropriate provision have been admitted, priority will be given in accordance with the Academy’s oversubscription criteria.

Oversubscription Criteria

Places will be allocated to pupils who have a EHC Plan that names the school as the appropriate provision. When there are more applications for places than there are places available, priority will be given in the following order:

a) Looked After Children and all previously Looked After Children (see paragraph 5.19.1 for definition of ‘Looked After Children’).

b) Children of staff where that member of staff has been employed at the school for two or more years at the time at which the application for admission to the school is made, and/or the member of staff is recruited to fill a vacant post for which there is a demonstrable skill shortage in the area (see paragraph 5.19.4 for definition of ‘children of staff’).

c) Children with a sibling link (see paragraph 5.19.3 for definition of ‘sibling’). Following allocation of places for these categories Thomas Clarkson Academy will prioritise children who live in its catchment area.

d) Children living in the catchment area that attend a Primary School within the catchment area. These are (in alphabetical order):

Alderman Payne Primary School
Beaupre Primary
Elm Primary
Elm Road Primary
Friday Bridge Primary
Gorefield Primary School
Guyhirn Primary
Kinderley Primary
Leverington Primary Academy
Murrow Primary Academy
Orchards CofE Primary School
Peckover Primary
Ramnoth Junior School
St Peter's CofE Aided Junior School - Academy
Wisbech St Mary CofE Academy

e) Children living within the catchment area at the time of application. Any remaining applications will be allocated using the following criteria: 

f) Children that attend a Primary school within the catchment area but do not live within the catchment area.

g) Other children based on the distance between home and school. Priority will be given to children who live in Cambridgeshire according to the shortest straight-line distance.

Straight line distance for admissions purposes is measured using the straight-line distance from the reference point of the home, as defined by the National Land and Property Gazetteer (NLPG) to the main pupil entrance of the Academy.

Tiebreaker

If the Admission Number is exceeded within criterion (b), (c), (d), (e), (f) and (g) all places within that year group will be allocated at random in the priority order listed above. The random allocation will be generated electronically using www.randomizer.org/form.htm and will be verified by an independent observer to guarantee fairness.

Year 7 Waiting List

The following arrangements apply to Thomas Clarkson Academy.

From the 1st March until the 31st August of the offer year (the academic year before the academic year in which students are admitted into Year 7) children's position on the Year 7 waiting list will be determined solely in accordance with the oversubscription criteria. Where places become vacant they will be allocated, through a fresh round of allocation, to children on the waiting list in accordance with the oversubscription criteria.

From the 1st September until the 31st December of the Year of entry in Year 7 – Where places become vacant they will be allocated, through a fresh round of allocation, to children on the waiting list in accordance with the oversubscription criteria.

The waiting list will be open to any parent/carer to ask for his/her child’s name to be placed on the waiting list, following an unsuccessful application to the Academy and to parents/carers who have not previously applied for a place during the academic year.

Appeals

If your child has been unsuccessful in obtaining a place at Thomas Clarkson for Year 7 entry, September 2024, you are entitled to appeal that decision. If you wish to appeal, please go to www.cambridgeshire.gov.uk/admissions selecting School Admission Appeals.

Parents will have the right of appeal to an Independent Appeal Panel if they are dissatisfied with an admission decision of the Thomas Clarkson Academy. The Appeal Panel will be independent of the Academy. The arrangements for Appeals will be in line with the Code of Practice on School Admission Appeals published by the Department for Education (DfE) as it applies to Foundation and Voluntary Aided schools. The determination of the appeal panel will be made in accordance with the Code of Practice on School Admission Appeals and is binding on all parties. The Academy will prepare guidance for parents about how the appeals process will work and will provide parents with a named contact who can answer any enquiries parents may have about the process.

Year 7 transition appeals:

It is expected that all admission appeals coordinated by the Local Authority will be virtual appeal hearings only, using Microsoft Teams. This process will allow representation from both School and Appellant, to attend the hearing and present their arguments. We will continue to update this message and our process, as per government guidelines.

September entry transition appeals will be heard from May through to July on weekdays, during term-time only.

If you lodge your appeal after the appeal submission deadlines below, it might not be possible to hear your appeal until after the start of the new school year in September.

Appeal Submission Deadlines

April 2024 – Secondary Transition Appeals Submission Deadline

Appeal timeline for late and in-year applications

Following the receipt of a late or in-year offer of a school place, parents have the right to appeal for a place at a school where they have been refused a place.

Upon the receipt of a completed appeal form, the appellant will be sent a letter of acknowledgement within 10 school days.

Upon the receipt of a completed appeal form, the appellant will be sent a letter of acknowledgement within 10 school days (see section - 'what happens after I submit an appeal').

Read more on the appeals procedure.

In-Year admissions

In-year admissions for Thomas Clarkson Academy are dealt with by Cambridgeshire County Council, regardless of what county you are living in.

If you are applying for a place at the Academy from another secondary school or because you've recently entered the country, you will need to follow the guidance on in-year admissions issued by the county council. Click here for more details.

Support with admissions

If you need any help with Year 7 admissions or in-year admissions, please contact our Admissions Manager, Keri Britton on admissions@thomasclarksonacademy.org or 01945 585237.

Sixth Form admissions

Please visit the Sixth Form section of our website.