Consultation on changes to school admissions criteria

Traditional school catchment areas may be scrapped under plans being considered by Bury Council.

The local authority is set to agree to hold a public consultation exercise on the proposals, which will affect council secondary schools in the borough.

The current admissions policy gives higher priority to children who live within a designated catchment area than children with siblings in the school and children who may live geographically closer, but not within the specified catchment area.

The proposed change will remove the barrier for admission to the nearest school, due to the locally set historic boundaries of a catchment area.

If a school is over-subscribed, priority will be given firstly to ‘looked after’ children, then those with an older brother or sister at the school, and then to those living nearest the school.

The change, if adopted, would come into effect for applications for secondary school places for the academic year 2024/25. 

Bury Council sets the admission criteria for community secondary schools – there are four in Bury: Elton, The Derby, Philips and Parrenthorn. 

Academies and voluntary aided schools set their own admission policies: however, they have traditionally followed the same arrangements as council schools. There will be another academy in the next two years – the new high school in Radcliffe – which will also have an effect on where parents choose to send their children.

Councillor Lucy Smith, cabinet member for children and young people, said: “Catchment areas have not been reviewed for many years and, as a result of school closures or new housing developments, some catchment areas are very large. It’s important we get this right, as it affects many thousands of people across the borough.

“Some schools may not have the capacity to accommodate the growing number of children living in its designated catchment area: and, in some cases, children live in a catchment area of a school which is actually further away and less accessible than their nearest geographically located school.”

If agreed by the council’s cabinet tomorrow night (Wed 1 June), consultation would take place from October to December this year, with a final decision made next February.

ENDS

Press release issued: 31 May 2022.