Consultation on school admission arrangements for 2026-2027

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Hampshire County Council is seeking your views on proposed changes to the admission arrangements for community and voluntary controlled schools in Hampshire (not including Portsmouth and Southampton) for the school year 2026/27

This consultation will run from 11 November until 27 December 2024.

Background

The School Admissions Code (Sept 2021), published by the Department for Education, requires all admission authorities to consult on their admission arrangements if they are seeking to make changes from the previous year or if the arrangements have not been consulted on for at least 7 years. Consultation must take place for a minimum of 6 weeks between 1 October and 31 January. The final arrangements must be determined by 28 February 2025.

The admission arrangements include an admission policy for each phase of school, a list of school specific criteria, the published admission number (PAN) and catchment area for each community and voluntary controlled school. Other documents include Hampshire County Council’s co-ordinated scheme for main round admissions, the Supplementary Information Form for Hampshire’s voluntary controlled schools and the random allocation procedure.

Consultation

Hampshire County Council, as the admission authority for all community and voluntary controlled schools in its administrative area, is proposing the following changes to the admission arrangements for 2026/27:

Published admission numbers (PANS)

A reduction to the PAN for the following schools:

  • Ashley Infant School, New Forest – from 65 to 45
  • Bartley CE Junior School, New Forest – from 96 to 64
  • Brockhurst Primary School, Gosport – from 60 to 30
  • Clanfield Junior School, East Hants – from 90 to 64
  • Crofton Anne Dale Junior School, Fareham – from 96 to 64
  • Fair Oak Junior School, Eastleigh – from 150 to 120 /li>
  • Freegrounds Infant School, Hedge End – from 90 to 60
  • Greenfields Junior School, Hart – from 90 to 60
  • Locks Heath Junior School, Fareham – from 128 to 96
  • Manor Junior School, Rushmoor – from 90 to 60
  • Marchwood Junior School, New Forest – from 90 to 66
  • Petersfield Infant School, East Hants – from 120 to 90
  • St Thomas CE Infant School, Basingstoke – from 45 to 30
  • Sopley Primary School, New Forest – from 15 to 10
  • Tweseldown Infant School, Hart – from 120 to 90
  • Woolton Hill Junior School, Basingstoke – from 45 to 30
  • Crestwood Community School, Eastleigh – from 300 to 293
  • Horndean Technology College, Waterlooville – from 275 to 272
  • Kings’ School, Winchester – from 360 to 357
  • The Hurst School, Tadley – from 216 to 210

Hampshire is also seeking a change for the 29 remaining community and voluntary controlled schools in Hampshire with places within their PAN for children with an Education Health and Care Plan admitted to the schools resourced provision for a specific special educational need. The proposal is to separate these specialist places from the mainstream places by removing them from the PAN.

The full lists of proposed PANs for 2026/27 for all community and voluntary controlled schools in Hampshire are available below:

Any proposed increases to PAN shown on these lists are for information only. There is no requirement for admission authorities to consult on an increase to PAN.

Admission Policies

Changes to the wording of the admission policies to ensure they are as clear as possible and easier for parents to understand as follows:

  • Amendment to the Tie-breaker section to simplify the arrangements around distance measurements
  • Minor amendments to the medical/social criterion to further emphasise the evidence required to support an application under this criterion
  • Removal of the term “decelerated admission” from the primary policy to make the arrangements easier to understand.

Addition of new linked schools for the following secondary schools:

  • Alderwood School:
    Cambridge Primary School and;
    Stanhope Primary School (due to open in September 2025)
  • The Wavell School:
    Cambridge Primary School
    Stanhope Primary School (due to open in September 2025)

A change to the admission arrangements for the following junior schools who have recently become federated with their linked infant school:

  • Knights Enham Junior School (linked to Knights Enham Infant School)
  • Manor Field Junior School (linked to Manor Field Infant School)
  • Bidbury Junior School (linked to Bidbury Infant School) – this change is conditional on the governing bodies taking the decision to federate on 12 November 2024.

The full proposed admission policies are included at the bottom of this webpage.

School specific criteria

A new school specific criterion to be included as part of the admission arrangements for the following schools. Please click on the school for more details.

The introduction of 9 new school specific criteria for the following schools in response to proposed changes to their catchment areas. See “Catchment areas” for more information.

  • Southwood Infant School
  • Cove Junior School
  • Guillemont Junior School
  • Alderwood School
  • Cove School
  • The Toynbee School
  • Tavistock Infant School
  • Fleet Infant School
  • Velmead Junior School

The full list of school specific criteria for 2026/27 is available at the bottom of this document.

Catchment areas

We are proposing catchment area changes for the following schools:

Any comments previously received in response to the initial consultations with local schools and residents will be included as part of the decision-making process for this wider admission arrangements consultation, so consultees do not need to resubmit their earlier comments.

The full proposed 2026/27 admission arrangements for Hampshire community and voluntary controlled schools are available below:

HOW TO RESPOND

If you have comments about any the changes outlined above or any other aspects of the proposed admission arrangements for 2026/27, please send them by e-mail to [email protected] or write to:

Admissions Team
Children’s Services
Hampshire County Council
The Castle
Winchester
SO23 8UG

All responses will be collated and considered by Hampshire’s Admissions Forum at their meeting on 13 January 2025, who will make recommendations to the Executive Member for Education, in advance of their decision day on Wednesday 12 February 2025.

The final arrangements will be published on the County Council website by 15 March 2025. If you have any questions relating to this consultation or would like to request a paper copy of the consultation, please email [email protected] or phone 0300 555 1377.