Determined Admissions Arrangements 2026/27
DETERMINED ADMISSION ARRANGEMENTS FOR 2026/7
ADMISSIONS POLICY FOR SECONDARY TRANSFER 2026
GENERAL INFORMATION
St Clement Danes School educates students between the ages of 11 and 18. It is a coeducational, all ability school. The school is proud of its long history, rich traditions and values.
The school was founded as a secondary school in 1862. As an Academy, the Admissions Committee of the Governing Board, which includes the Headteacher, is responsible for all admissions to the school. The school has been supported, throughout its history, by the Trustees of the Holborn Estate Charity, founded in 1551.
Every secondary transfer applicant to St Clement Danes School must complete the Secondary Application Form for their home Local Authority. Applicants wishing to apply under criterion 3 (Children of Staff), criterion 4 (Musical Aptitude) and/or criterion 5 (Academic Ability) should also complete a St Clement Danes Supplementary Information Form. If there are fewer applications than places available, the school will allocate places to all applicants.
It is the St Clement Danes Governors’ policy that students will be taught within their normal age group (that is their correct chronological year) because the school’s curriculum is differentiated for all abilities within the cohort. They will only consider an exception to this if there are extenuating circumstances submitted with the application as to why a student should be educated out of year; however, in the case of applicants from summer born children, who delayed their entry to Reception by one academic year, the school will continue to educate these children out of their normal age group.
1. CHILDREN LOOKED AFTER AND CHILDREN PREVIOUSLY LOOKED AFTER (CRITERION 1)
1.1 Looked after children will be prioritised under criterion 1. Priority will also be given to children, who were previously looked after, including those who appear (to the admissions authority) to have been in state care outside of England or Wales, but ceased to be as a result of being adopted, or became subject to a child arrangement order¹ or a special guardianship order². Children who were not “looked after” immediately before being adopted, or made the subject of a child arrangement order or special guardianship order, will not be prioritised under this criterion.
1.2 Places are allocated to children in public care according to Chapter 7, Section 2 of the School Admissions (Admission Arrangements and Co-ordination of Admission Arrangements) (England) Regulations 2012. A “child looked after” is a child who is a) in the care of a local authority, or b) being provided with accommodation by a local authority in the exercise of their social services functions (section 22(1) of The Children Act 1989). Children in the process of being placed for adoption are classified by law as children looked after providing there is a Placement Order and the application would be prioritised under criterion 1.
1.3 All children adopted from care in England and Wales who are of compulsory school age are eligible for admission under criterion
1. The applicant must provide an Adoption Certificate, a Child Arrangements Order or a Special Guardianship Order, along with evidence from a local authority to show that the child is in their care or was in their care immediately prior to being adopted.¹ Child arrangements order Under the provisions of the Children and Families Act 2014, which amended section 8 of the Children Act 1989, residence orders have now been replaced by child arrangements orders which settle the arrangements to be made as to the person with whom the child is to live. ² Special guardianship order Under 14A of The Children Act 1989, an order appointing one or more individuals to be a child’s special guardian or guardians.
1.4 Applications for children who have been adopted but were previously looked after abroad (not by an English or Welsh local authority) will be considered under this rule and accepted if the child’s previously looked after status and adoption is confirmed.
1.5 A child’s previously looked after status will be decided in accordance with the definition outlined in The Children & Social Work Act 2017: (a) to have been in state care in a place outside England and Wales because he or she would not otherwise have been cared for adequately, and (b) to have ceased to be in that state care as a result of being adopted. A child is in “state care” if he or she is in the care of, or accommodated by: (a) a public authority, (b) a religious organisation, or (c) any other organisation the sole or main purpose of which is to benefit society.
1.6 All applications are considered individually but a successful application should include evidence that the child was previously cared for by the state abroad because he or she would not otherwise have been cared for adequately and has been subsequently adopted.
2. SIBLINGS (CRITERION 2)
2.1 St Clement Danes School has always valued the tangible sense of community. Hence the Governors place great importance upon Admission Criterion 2.
2.2 For the purposes of the School’s Admission Criteria, a sibling is defined as an applicant who has at least one natural parent (or parent by legal adoption/carer) in common with a student at the school, a looked after or previously looked after child (this does not include children temporarily living in the same house). In every case the siblings must reside at the same family home as each other at least Monday to Friday. The parent must also have parental responsibility for the child.
2.3 A brother or sister is considered to have a sibling connection only if their older brother or sister will be attending the school at the time of application of the younger sibling.
2.4 In the case of twins/multiple births from the same household, if only one twin qualifies for admission, the school will allocate places to both children, conditional on both twins attending the school. If the qualifying twin withdraws, the second place is forfeit. This principle will apply to other multiple births such as triplets. Additional place(s) will be counted as sibling admissions. If children of multiple births are tied for the final place, those siblings will be admitted over the published admissions number.
2.5 Where there is more than one sibling on the continuing interest list, the applicant who lives closest to the school, in a straight line as determined by AddressBase Premium, will be allocated a place first.
3. CHILDREN OF STAFF (CRITERION 3)
Children of staff employed by the Trustees of Danes Educational Trust at St Clement Danes School (excluding Central Services Staff) will be allocated a place if either or all of the following conditions are met:
3.1 Where a member of staff has been employed by the Trustees of Danes Educational Trust at St Clement Danes School (excluding Central Services Staff) under a contract of employment for a continuous period of two or more years at the time the application is made.
3.2. Where the Governors can demonstrate that the member of staff has been recruited to fill a vacant position for which there is a demonstrable skills shortage.
3.3. In addition to either (a) or (b) the child must live at the same permanent address as the member of staff.
4. SELECTIVE CRITERIA (CRITERIA 4 AND 5)
4.1 The new School Admissions Code, which came into force in 2021, requires all schools that use aptitude and academic tests as part of their admission arrangements to inform parents of the outcome of these tests before the secondary transfer application deadline, 31 October 2025 (for applicants to the 2026 academic year).
4.2 Applicants who wish to apply under the musical aptitude and/or academic ability tests need to have applied to sit the tests through the South West Herts Schools Consortium between April 2025 and June 2025 in order to be considered under criteria 4 and/or 5 for entry at Secondary Transfer 2026. The tests will take place in autumn term.
4.3 Admission criteria 4 and 5 allow parents to apply for a place if their child has particular abilities and/or aptitudes which would benefit from the unique environment provided at the school. The result of the test is not a guarantee of a selective place.
4.4 As the sibling criterion is ranked higher than criteria 4 and 5, it is not usual practice for sibling applicants to sit either the Musical Aptitude test (criterion 4) or the Academic Ability test (Criterion 5). Those who intend to apply only for a distance place or only for a place on the basis of aptitude in music need not sit the school’s admissions test of academic ability. The result of the test is not a guarantee of a selective place.
4.5 Testing for musical aptitude: Round one is an aural test and does not require any previous knowledge of music or music theory. There will be 60 questions in total in four sections: pitch, rhythm, texture and melody. The highest scoring candidates will be invited back for round two to perform a single piece on their chosen instrument or vocally. This will be a free choice of piece, which should last no longer than three minutes. As there is a free choice of instrument and piece, it will allow candidates of all abilities and all cultures equal opportunity to succeed. Those invited back will be given an individual appointment during the school day.
4.6 Testing for academic ability: Academic ability is determined through tests in verbal reasoning and mathematics. No minimum score will be required to gain admission, with places being offered strictly in descending order of candidates’ standardised test scores. Preparation for the tests is unnecessary.
4.7 Applications for the tests should be made through South West Hertfordshire Schools Consortium website www.swhertsschools.org.uk. This website also provides answers to frequently asked questions, examples of test questions and information regarding the testing arrangements.
4.8 The tests for Musical Aptitude and Academic Ability will be administered with other local schools. Applicants to more than one of these schools under the criteria requiring a proven measure of academic ability or musical aptitude will be assessed by these jointly administered tests.
4.9 A reserve list will operate for both the Musical Aptitude test and Academic Ability test, in strict merit order, from which subsequent offers will be made, should there be any withdrawal. In the case of applicants with the same score, the place will be allocated to the applicant whose permanent home address is closest to the school.
5. DISTANCE (CRITERIA 6 AND 7)
5.1 Any remaining places will be allocated on distance. For the purposes of Criteria 6 and 7, an applicant’s home address shall be the family home for the applicant for a period of a minimum of 12 months immediately prior to application. Where an applicant has not been in residence at the stated address for the period of 12 months prior to application, it shall be the responsibility of the applicant to demonstrate the authenticity of the applicant’s address and that the address is permanent. The school may check the authenticity of the address stated. Proof of residence may be requested and must be provided.
5.2 Where parents/carers share residence for part of the week, both home addresses must be quoted and the address of the parent where the child spends the majority of their time will be considered as the permanent home address. Where an applicant lives equally between two addresses, parents/carers should make a joint statement as to the address to be used for the school application. If the parents/carers are not in agreement then court documentation should be provided as to which address should be used for the school application. Only one application can be accepted for a child. In all cases, the relevant parent/carer must have parental responsibility (sole or shared) for the applicant.
5.3 The Governors are concerned to ensure that applicants who provide misleading, incomplete or fraudulent information for admissions do not deprive other applicants of a rightful place. The Governors will consider each application and apply the school’s admissions rules where an address appears to be temporary or false. An application from a home address will also be viewed critically and may be refused if, inter alia:-
a. the completion of purchase or the rental agreement has been contracted in the 12 month period prior to the closing date for admissions;
b. the family has recently moved from a property from which their application was less likely to be successful;
c. there are reasonable grounds to believe that the home address provided is an
“accommodation" address for the purposes of a fraudulent application;
d. where a tenancy agreement is for less than 6 months and/or the end of a tenancy agreement precedes the commencement of the school term;
e. when the child starts at the school their address is different from the address used at the time of application;
f. when a child starts at the school they change address within the first term or
g. where an applicant continues to have ties to a previous family home.
In each case the applicant will be given the opportunity to provide evidence to show that a property is their permanent home address. This evidence must be sufficient to demonstrate to the school Governors that an address is permanent.
5.4 Hertfordshire County Council’s ‘straight line’ distance measurement system is used for all home to school distance measurements. Distances are measured using a computerised mapping system to two decimal places. The measurement is taken from the AddressBase Premium address point of your child’s house to the address point of the school. AddressBase Premium data is a nationally recognised method of identifying the location of schools and individual residences.
5.5 Applications must be made from the permanent home address where the applicant is residing at the time of application. At the time of application means the closing date for applications. If the applicant changes address after applying for a place at the school, the applicant should advise the school and County Council in writing immediately. Provision of an incorrect home address or other false information is likely to lead to the withdrawal of an offer of a place.
5.6 St Clement Danes School is an autonomous admitting authority and as such will make the decision as to whether or not to accept an address.
6 TIE BREAK
6.1 The distance criteria (Criteria 6 and 7) are measured to two decimal places. If the next allocation is to two or more applicants and their distances are identical, a random selection will be made.
6.2 Within the selective criteria, (Criterion 4 – Musical Aptitude and Criterion 5 – Academic Ability) if the next allocation is to two or more applicants with identical scores, the place will be allocated to the applicant who lives closest to the school. If the applicants have identical scores and distance measurements, a random selection will be made.
6.3 Random selection will be carried out using a unique reference number. Every child entered onto the Hertfordshire County Council admissions data base has an individual random number assigned against each preference school. When there is a need for a final tie break, the lowest number will be given priority.
7 APPLICATION PROCESS
7.1 St Clement Danes School participates within the co-ordinated admission arrangements operated by the County Council.
7.2 All applicants are required to complete the Secondary Application Form provided by the County Council in which they reside.
Applicants must rank St Clement Danes School as one of their preferences on the Secondary Application Form if they wish their application to be considered by the school. For Hertfordshire residents this form can be found on line at www.hertfordshire.gov.uk/admissions or paper applications are available on request. Residents of other Local Authorities should contact their home Authority for details of the Secondary Application Form.
7.3 Applicants wishing to apply under criterion 3, 4 and/or 5 are requested to complete a St Clement Danes School Supplementary Information Form. The form, once completed, must be returned to the school. If the school does not receive a Supplementary Information Form, i.e. the school’s own application form, by the closing date for applications, the school will be unable to judge the application against its own admission criteria. If an applicant has not taken the tests prior to applying for a place at the school, it will not be possible for the application to be considered under Criteria 4 and/or 5.
7.4 The closing date for applications is 31st October 2025 late applications cannot be considered until the second round of continuing interest.
8 CONTINUING INTEREST LIST
8.1 If your child is allocated a place at a school that you ranked higher than St Clement Danes on the Local Authority application, the Governors would not normally add the applicant’s name to the continuing interest list as they would assume your preference had been met.
8.2 Applicants who have not been allocated a school they ranked higher than St Clement Danes will automatically have their name added to the continuing interest list. Should any places become available, allocations will be made in accordance with the school’s oversubscription criterion. The list will cease to operate at the end of the autumn term 2026 and applicants who wish to remain on the continuing interest list will need to complete an in-year application form.
8.3 Following allocations on 1st March, unsuccessful applicants will be given their position on the continuing interest list.
8.4 The Governors’ policy is not to consider repeat applications during the same academic year unless there has been a significant change in circumstances relevant to the application.
9 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
9.1 Applicants and their parents are provided with comprehensive information about the school and the application process. This information is available in the School Prospectus, the insert booklet given to each applicant on the Open Day and on the school website www.stclementdanes.org.uk.
9.2 The school and the Headteacher provide information at the Open Day, held in September/October, for all prospective applicants.
9.3 The school holds an Open Morning prior to the deadline for application. On these occasions, a member of the Senior Leadership Team is available to provide further information requested by individual parents.
9.4 Following the deadline for application, the Headteacher does not meet with applicants.
9.5 If an applicant or unsuccessful applicant requests further information, they may be directed to the sources of information already provided, if this is applicable.
9.6 The school will provide information for unsuccessful candidates. This will take the form of a comprehensive Pupil Audit report giving positions on the continuing interest lists in March 2026. The school also provides detailed generic information on the school’s website www.stclementdanes.org.uk.
10 EDUCATIONAL HEALTH AND CARE PLAN
The Governors will meet their legal obligation to allocate a place to an applicant who has an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) that names St Clement Danes School. These children will be admitted as part of the schools published admissions number before the oversubscription criteria are used.
11 WITHDRAWAL OF A PLACE
The Governors of the school will withdraw an offer of a place if the place is offered in error, a parent fails to respond to an offer within a reasonable time, or the Governors offered the place on the basis of a fraudulent or intentionally misleading application from a parent, or in the case where a negligent misstatement has been made. Applicants must inform the Governors of any change in circumstances relating to the application immediately, and in writing. A decision will then be made as to whether or not this affects the application or the place offered.
12 APPEALS
Parents wishing to appeal who applied through Hertfordshire’s online system should log into their online application and click on the link “register an appeal”. Out of county residents and paper applicants should call the Customer Service Centre on 0300 123 4043 to request registration details and then log in to www.hertfordshire.gov.uk/schoolappeals and click on the link “log into appeals system”.
Governors’ Admissions Committee St Clement Danes School - January 2025
