Year 7 intake – September 2024
(Information from the Ripley St Thomas Website)
Applications for September’s Year 7 intake should be made online between 1st September and 31st October via the Local Authority website www.lancashire.gov.uk/schools.
A supplementary form must be completed for all applications wishing to be considered for a place at this school on faith criteria.
Our Admissions policy and Supplementary form are available for download here:
ADMISSIONS POLICY and Supplementary Form 2024-25 [September 2024 intake]
and at the bottom of this page.
Letters/emails informing parents of whether or not their child has been allocated a place will be sent out by the Local Authority on 1st March. Parents of children not admitted will be offered an alternative place by the Authority. The school is not able to offer places beyond its admission number.
In view of the Christian foundation of the school, the governors expect that in choosing the school parents thereby commit their child to taking a full part in the RE and worshipping life of the school.
Church Groups
Discover which churches are in Churches Together in England, Free Churches Group, the Evangelical Alliance and NW Partnership.
Church attendance during Covid-19
The Covid-19 pandemic has led to churches and other places of worship being closed for public worship under the provisions of the Coronavirous Act and its associated Regulations since lockdown was implemented in mid-March 2020. It is recognised, therefore, that parents are unable to show that they meet the oversubscription criterion for regular church attendance during this period of temporary closure.
In the light of this, the following procedures will apply:
In the event that during the period specified for attendance at worship the church has been closed for public worship and has not provided alternative premises for that worship, the requirements of these admissions arrangements in relation to the regularity of attendance will be based on the period(s) when the church or alternative premises have been available for public worship.
Clergy should assume that attendance for the closed period would have continued to be in line with the previously observed pattern, and should include the period of closure in the overall period of attendance.
The church building is classed as closed for public worship unless it is open for unrestricted and fully public worship (ie restricted worship is not public worship).
Non-routine (in-year) admissions
It sometimes happens that a child needs to change school other than at the “normal” time; such admissions are known as non-routine or in-year admissions. (Normal admissions rounds are a statutory process where all parents/carers must apply for a place for their child to start school in the school’s ‘year of entry’ at Primary, or Secondary school.) Any application for a school place in Year 7 on or after the first day of the academic term will be considered as an in-year application. Any application for another age group will also be considered as an in-year application.
Moving to a new school is an important step for all children. It can affect children in many ways and decisions by parents to change school should therefore always be carefully considered. There are instances where a change of school is essential i.e. for families who have moved into or relocated within Lancashire.
In situations where a school move is not absolutely essential all parents are strongly urged to carefully consider the implications for their child. Changing schools is a big event for any child and should not be undertaken without first talking to the headteacher at your child’s current school, to try to resolve any problems.
What should I consider?
Some of the things which you must think about if you are considering a change of school for your child for convenience rather than necessity are:-
Curriculum – this is especially important for secondary aged children, and particularly for those in Years 9, 10 or 11. A new school may not necessarily be able to exactly match a child’s existing curriculum commitments.
Achievement – on average statistics show that school moves lower examination results.
Behaviour – it can be helpful for a child who is presenting challenging behaviour to move to a new school. However this is normally only where the behaviour is linked to the existing school. If strategies to assist a child have already been put in place these can be disrupted by a school move. This can lead to further difficulties. It is usually better for the child if the family work with the existing school to help to address and resolve any difficulties.
Where a school move is a strategy to address challenging behaviour there is often a requirement for the child to be on the roll of both schools for an interim period. If the change of schools is not successful the child would be expected to remain on roll and attend the original school.
Peer Group / Friends – if there are difficulties consider if these would be resolved by a school move? There could be similar issues, even in a new school. Again it is often better to work with the existing school to address matters. Moving a child away from an established peer group may adversely affect achievement.
Timing – a change of schools during the school year can disrupt a child’s education if they are already in the middle of a specific piece of coursework.
Uniform – schools set their own uniform requirements and Lancashire does not generally provide financial
assistance with uniform costs.
Transport – schools set their own start and finish times. You need to consider the implication of these on your child and in relation to your personal day to day schedule.
How to make an In-Year application
Parents wishing their child to attend this school should refer to the relevant admissions policy at the bottom of this page. They should complete this In-Year Application Form and return it to Ripley St Thomas Admissions Office, together with the supplementary form that is included with the admissions policy. The Academy will consider the application and will notify you of the outcome in writing within 15 school days. If there is a place in the appropriate year group, we will arrange for the admission to take place.
Transfer Protocol
The majority of Lancashire schools operate a first day of term transfer protocol. This does not apply if you are new to the area and the child does not already have a school place. If however the child is changing schools during the year the start date will normally be at the beginning of the next school term. The child would have to continue to attend the existing school until that date. This can also apply where a parental appeal for a school transfer is allowed by an independent admission appeal panel.
Appeals
If there is no place available you have the right to appeal. Appeal forms should be submitted within 20 school days of the letter refusing admission.
Rev. Peter Hamborg Video.
Rev Peter has prepared a video which he hopes will cover a lot of the issues facing families applying to Ripley St Thomas.
Follow this Link