Secondary admissions
Process following the offer of a secondary school place
All places offered for Cheshire West and Chester Pupils are automatically accepted.
Declining places offered
Following receipt of the notification on 1 March 2024 if the place is declined, it is important to notify the admissions team as soon as possible in writing or to admissions@cheshirewestandchester.gov.uk.This allows the admissions team to re-allocate the place to a child on the school/academy’s waiting list. The school place offered will automatically be accepted unless applicants notify the admissions team otherwise.
What happens if I decline the school place offered without making alternative arrangements?
We do not advise that you decline the place offered unless you have already made alternative arrangements for the education of your child. If you choose to decline the place offered it is your responsibility to ensure that your child receives an education. We can advise you of alternative schools with vacancies for September 2024 from the end of March onwards. Please telephone 0300 123 7039 for more information. This will not affect your legal right of appeal.
Cheshire West and Chester residents
If your child is resident in the borough and we are unable to meet any of the preferences stated on your application form, we will allocate a place at the next nearest school with a place available, measured in a straight line from the centrally plotted Basic Land and Property Unit point (BLPU) of the child’s home address to the centrally plotted BLPU point of the school as defined by Local Land and Property Gazetteer(LLPG).
Please note: this will not affect your right of appeal.
Non Cheshire West and Chester residents
Where an application has been received from a parent resident in another council area and a place cannot be offered, we will not allocate a place.
Further information
Any child refused a place at any of the preferred Cheshire West and Chester schools will automatically be placed on the school’s waiting list.
After 1 March 2024, waiting lists for oversubscribed schools will start to be prepared and will consist of those children who have been refused a place at the school, those for whom an appeal form has been received together with any late applications received.
Waiting lists will beheld in oversubscription criteria order and not on a ‘first come, first served’ basis. Placing a child’s name on a waiting list does not affect the statutory right of appeal.
As admissions authority for community and voluntary controlled schools, we will forward waiting lists to the school in September 2024 for the school to continue to maintain as part of the in year admissions process.
Please note: waiting lists for all schools must be held until the end of the Autumn Term.
We anticipate that by the end of May, any places that have become available after offers were made on 1 March 2024 will be re-allocated to children on the waiting list together with late applications received.
Waiting lists are collated in over-subscription priority order and places are allocated accordingly in line with the over-subscription criteria. Any written requests to be placed on a school’s waiting list and further late applications received after 1 March 2024 will be actioned in date order at a later stage.
Yes. For community and voluntary controlled schools you can appeal against our decision by completing an appeal form or by telephoning 0300 123 7039.
For aided, foundation schools and academies you can appeal against the decision of the governing body/trust in its role as the admission authority for the school by contacting the school directly for further information.
If your preferred school is maintained by another English council you will need to contact the relevant council for information on how to appeal or be placed on a waiting list.
