The Chantry School Admissions
We’re delighted you’re considering The Chantry School for your child’s secondary education. Choosing the right school is one of the most important decisions you’ll make, and we’re here to support you through every step of the admissions process.
At The Chantry School, we’re committed to creating a welcoming, inclusive community where every child can thrive academically, socially and personally. Our admissions procedures are designed to be transparent, fair and supportive, ensuring all families have equal access to the excellent education we offer.
Key Admissions Information at a Glance:
- Year 7 intake: 175 places available for September 2026 entry
- Application deadline: 31st October 2025 (via your Local Authority)
- Open evenings: Held in early Autumn term – we warmly invite you to visit
- Admissions authority: We work closely with Worcestershire Local Authority
- Oversubscription: Clear priority order ensures fairness when demand exceeds places
- Support: Our team is here to help with any questions or concerns
Our Commitment:
We believe every child deserves the opportunity to flourish at The Chantry School. Whether you’re applying for Year 7 entry or considering an in-year transfer, we’ll guide you through the process with clarity and care. Our doors are always open for visits, and we encourage you to contact us with any questions about your child joining our school community.
Important First Steps:
Attend our Open Evening to experience our school first-hand.
Apply through your Local Authority by end of October.
Contact us directly if you have specific questions about your child’s needs
Check catchment areas using the Worcestershire online postcode checker
Admission Information
Admissions Process
The Chantry School participates in the Local Authority co-ordinated admissions scheme for entry to the school at the normal time of transfer (Year 7) and all applicants should adhere to deadlines within that scheme. Full information on this scheme and the procedure for applications is contained in the Information for Parents Booklet published by Worcestershire Local Authority. If you do not live in Worcestershire, you need to follow the procedure published by your own Local Authority.
The Local Authority will deal with the first part of the admissions process. Application for all school places must be made on the Common Application Form (CAF) provided by your home Local Authority, with the opportunity to nominate schools, ranked in order of preference. For residents living in Worcestershire, transfer information and the CAF are available online at www.worcestershire.gov.uk. Once completed, the CAF, including on-line forms, must be received by your home Local Authority by their deadline.
Applying for Places
Applications are welcomed from all who wish their children to attend The Chantry School. Students and Parents/Carers who are considering applying are warmly invited to visit the school. The school has Open Evenings in the early autumn term which are designed to both give out information and provide an insight to what the school is like. We also encourage interested parents and carers to contact us with any individual queries they may have.
The Published Admission Number for Year 7 at our school is 175. Applications will be sorted in descending order according to the Oversubscription Criteria below. With only 175 places available, this number will be reached at varying levels each year, depending on the number and nature of applications received. The deadline for receipt of applications published by the Local Authority must be adhered to.
Late Applications
Applications made after the closing date as published in the Local Authority’s co-ordinated admissions scheme will be dealt with in accordance with this Policy and will receive a lower priority than those applications received on time.
Offers of Places
The Local Authority will forward to The Chantry School, a list of applicants who could be offered a place based on our Admission Criteria. The Local Authority will then inform parents of the outcome of their application for a place.
The Local Authority and The Chantry School have the right to withdraw the offer of a place before the student is admitted to school where it is found that:
• the offer of a place has been made on the basis of a fraudulent or intentionally misleading application.
• where a Parent/Carer has not responded to the offer within a reasonable time of the offer being made.
It may be necessary for the school to carry out checks to confirm that information given in relation to children’s home address is genuine. Parents/Carers may be asked to produce documentary evidence of the address given. Please note that to be considered as a catchment priority under the admissions policy, you must provide written evidence that clearly shows you will be living in the catchment area or at the new property by the relevant admission date for your child’s school. Without this evidence, your application will not be treated as a catchment priority or based on the new property’s location.
If you withdraw your application for any reason or wish to decline an offer of a place at The Chantry School you must inform the Headteacher and Pupil Admissions and Transfers at your home Local Authority immediately in writing.
Waiting List (Normal round of Admissions)
The Parent/Carers of students who are unsuccessful in gaining a place in the normal round of applications will be added to the waiting list by the Local Authority. If a place becomes available it will be allocated from the waiting list according to the Oversubscription Criteria listed below.
Allocation is not on the basis of first come, first serve. This waiting list is maintained until the end of December 2026. If you wish your child’s name to remain on the waiting list for Year 7 after December 2026, you must write to the Headteacher of The Chantry School at the start of each new term confirming that you wish your child’s name to remain on the list.
For in-year applications, attendance at a feeder school will be a ranking criteria only for the Autumn term of Year 7. For pupils applying in year, the attendance at a feeder school will not be used as a ranking criteria for In-year admissions from January 1st (of the pupil’s Y7 year) onwards.
In Year Admissions for Existing Year Groups
Since 2020, applications have been co-ordinated on behalf of all schools by School Admissions, on behalf of the Local Authority. The Co-ordinated Scheme can be viewed at the following link:
https://www.worcestershire.gov.uk/coordinatedschemes
In Year criteria for Key stage 2, 3 and 4.
As a school we may be required to admit a child as part of the Fair Access Protocol (FAP). The Fair Access Protocol can be found at: https://www.worcestershire.gov.uk/policiesandappeals
Any such students take precedence over those on the waiting list.
For The Chantry School the phased transfer is from Year 6 to Year 7. Other Year Admissions would be covered by our In-Year procedure.
Parental Responsibility
Should more than one Parent/Carer have legal responsibility for a child, both Parents/Carers must be in agreement over the application.
Oversubscription Criteria
We aim to be an inclusive school which helps and supports all children to achieve their potential. We do not discriminate on any grounds; ideally, we would like the school to reflect the mix of religions, attitudes and socio-economic backgrounds found in the wider community.
Where there are more applications than places, children are admitted in the following order of priority:
‘Looked After’ and previously ‘Looked After’ Children including Children who appear to have been in state care outside of England and ceased to be in state care as a result of being adopted.
Siblings of pupils attending the school and living at the same home address, within the catchment area of the school. In order to qualify for a place on the grounds of a sibling attending the school, the sibling must be on roll and attending the school at the time of application and still be on roll and attending at the date of admission.
Pupils living within the catchment area of the school. Copies of catchment area maps, if required are available from the LA, or can be viewed on the school website, or within school.
Pupils living outside of the catchment area but who would still have a sibling connection at school at the time of admission. In order to qualify for a place on the grounds of a sibling attending the school, the sibling must already be on roll and attending the school at the time of application and still be on roll and attending at the time of admission.
Pupils who were attending a feeder school at the time of application.
Children of staff currently employed by The Chantry School on a permanent contract, who have at least 2 years’ service or who have been recruited to fill a vacant post where there is a demonstrative skill shortage.
Pupils who live nearest to the school by the shortest straight-line distance. The measurement will be taken using the Geocode Points for each property and the Geocode point of the School. The Governing Body will utilise the Local Authority software package called Arcview GIS to determine distance. Ordinance Survey supplies the co-ordinates that are used to plot an address within this system. (In the event of equi-distance applicants, any available place will be allocated by random selection (lottery). Someone totally independent of the Governing Body will supervise this process).
In the event of a school catchment area change being approved, pupils who would still have a sibling connection at the time of admission and who are living at the same address in the previous catchment area for a school, (but not within the revised catchment area), at the time the change was approved will be considered as living within the catchment area.
Late Application
Applications received after the closing date of 31st October are considered Late. However, there may be some exception, and we would ask you to refer to the Information for Parents Book published by Worcestershire Local Authority for further information.
Waiting Lists
The school retains all waiting lists for each oversubscribed year group after 1 September. Each term the waiting lists for each year group are re-compiled.
Parents/Carers must express interest via the WCC portal at the start of each new term confirming that they wish their child’s name to remain on the list.
If a place should become available, applications currently on the waiting list will be ranked according to oversubscription criteria, and an offer will be made to the child who ranks highest at that time and are not dealt with on a first come, first serve basis.
Appeals
The Parents/Carers of children who are unsuccessful in gaining a place at The Chantry School have the right to appeal to an Independent Appeals Panel. Parents/Carers wishing to do this should contact in writing the Admissions Officer at The Chantry School within 20 days of receipt of notification. The Independent Appeals Panel’s procedures are in accordance with the Schools Standards and Framework Act 1998, as amended by the Education Act 2002 and the Schools Appeals Code of Practice. Parents/Carers may attend the hearing of their appeal and make their case to the panel.
Withdrawal of places
The Local Authority and The Chantry School have the right to withdraw the offer of a place before the student is admitted to school where it is found that the:
• Offer of a place has been made on the basis of a fraudulent or intentionally misleading application.
• Or where a Parent/Carer has not responded to the offer within a reasonable time of the offer being made.
• Or where the place is not taken up without supporting medical evidence being provided.
Admission of Children outside of their normal age group
Parents/Carers can also request that their child be admitted outside of their normal age group, effectively in the year group below or above their chronological age group. The Chantry School will make the decision based on the circumstances of each case, after completing an education assessment to determine whether or not it is appropriate for the individual child to delay or accelerate their entry into school and be taught outside of their chronological age group.
Children of UK Service Personnel & Crown Servants
We will use the address at which the child will live when applying our oversubscription criteria, as long as the parents provide some evidence of their intended address. A Unit or quartering address will be used as the child’s home address when considering the application against the oversubscription criteria, where a parent requests this.
Definitions
'Looked After' Children
‘Looked After’ and previously ‘Looked After’ Children
A “looked after child” has the same meaning as in section 22(1) of the Children Act 1989, and means any child who is (a) in the care of the local authority or (b) being provided with accommodation by them in the exercise of their social services functions (e.g. children with foster parents) at the time of making the application to the school. A “previously looked after child” is a child who immediately moved on from that status after becoming subject to an adoption, child arrangement order or special guardianship order and includes those children who appear to have been in state care outside of England and ceased to be in state case as a result of being adopted.
A child is regarded as having been in state care in a place outside of England if they were accommodated by a public authority, a religious organisation or any other provider of care whose sole purpose is to benefit society.
The school may request such evidence that demonstrates a child was in state care outside of England prior to being adopted.
Siblings
Applicants who have a sibling on roll at The Chantry School at the time of application who would still be on roll at the time of admission may claim a sibling connection. Siblings are defined as brothers or sisters who share at least one birth or legally adoptive parent. This includes step, fostered, adopted and other children. They must also be living at the same home address. Children who are brought together as a family by a civil partnership and who are living at the same address, are also considered to be siblings.
In the event of a multiple birth where not all children from that multiple birth can be allocated a place(s), any place(s) will be allocated by random selection (lottery). Someone totally independent of the Governing Body will supervise this process.
Catchment Area
Our catchment area is defined on the map which may be viewed in school on request, or if required, copies are available from the Local Authority. You may also visit http://www.worcestershire.gov.uk/schoolsearch and use the online postcode catchment area checker.
To qualify as living within the catchment area of The Chantry School, School Admissions will need to be satisfied that you do live within that area or property at the relevant closing date and at the time of admission.
If you are in the process of moving to live in the relevant catchment area at the time of your application you need to provide School Admissions with some firm independent evidence of when you will actually begin to live there. This evidence must be provided before the relevant closing date for applications.
This is also applicable if you are moving property and wish to have your application considered from your new property.
If your move into the catchment area or moving property involves the purchase of a property you will need to provide appropriate written independent evidence (in the form of a letter from your solicitors) that contracts for the purchase have been exchanged and of the actual or expected completion date.
If your move into the catchment area or moving property involves the renting of a property you will need to provide appropriate written independent evidence (eg from an estate agent or solicitor) of the tenancy agreement or lease including the start date.
If you are moving into the catchment area or returning to a property you already own, you will need to provide independent written evidence confirming the date you will resume living there and your intention to continue residing at the property.
If your move into the catchment area or change of property involves different circumstances, you will need to provide independent written evidence confirming the date you will begin living there, the living arrangements in place, and the expected duration of your stay.
Please note that unless the written evidence which you provide proves, to the satisfaction of School Admissions, that you will actually have commenced living in the catchment area or the new property by the relevant admission date for your child at the school to which you have applied, your application cannot be considered as a catchment priority within the criteria of the admissions policy or considered based on the new property.
Please also note confirmation of living within the catchment area or new property does not guarantee a place for your child.
It is vital that you inform School Admissions of any change of your address throughout the admission process.
Home
Must be the address where the student usually lives. Where parents/ carers have shared residence the home address will be where the student lives most of the time during the school week. In the case of a residency order of 50% shared responsibility the home address will be taken as the one closest to The Chantry School.
Feeder School
Our feeder primary schools are Abberley Parochial Primary School, Astley CE Primary School, Broadheath CE Primary School, Broadwas CE Primary School, Clifton Upon Teme Primary School, Great Witley CE Primary School, Grimley and Holt CE Primary School, Hallow CE Primary School, and Martley CE Primary School. Applicants must be on roll at one of these schools at the time of application to qualify under this criterion. There is no guarantee of a place at The Chantry School for applicants attending a feeder primary school.
Children of Staff
Children of staff currently employed by The Chantry School. Where the member of staff is on a permanent contract, and who 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 where there is a demonstrative skill shortage.
Admissions Policy determined by Local Governing Body meeting on 12th December 2025