The Latymer School Admission Procedure
for Septemer 2008
Approved by the Governing Body 27th February 2007.
Admissions to Year 7 in the Normal Annual Admissions Round
The Latymer School Edmonton is a Voluntary Aided Grammar School (a selective school) for Boys and Girls aged 11-18. The Governors welcome applications for children of high academic ability who will also contribute to and benefit from the broader aspects of Latymer School life. The Governors offer places each September to 180 pupils (the standard number under the 1988 Education Act).
There were 1630 applications for the 180 places available in Year 7 in September 2007.
Open Evenings
There will be meetings on: <CLICK FOR DATES> at which the Headteacher will talk to parents and guardians about the school and its admission arrangements.
Parents are asked NOT to bring children to these talks and there will be no opportunity to view the school on these evenings.
Tours of the school for parents and children, led by members of the Sixth Form, will be offered on: <CLICK FOR DATES>. Limited car parking will be available at the rear of school. Please enter via the North Gate, the South Gate will be exit only.
Application Forms
These will be available on all of the Open Evenings. Forms for entry to Year 7 in September 2008 should be submitted to the school by 4.00 p.m. on:
<CLICK FOR DATES>. Parents should also name The Latymer School on the Common Application Form for secondary school places, for whichever Borough you live in. This form must be returned to your own Local Authority by:
<CLICK FOR DATES>. If you do not name The Latymer School on your Common Application Form we will be unable to process your application.
Admission Criteria
Only girls and boys who are deemed capable of following an education leading to the higher grades of GCSE in a full range of National Curriculum subjects are eligible to be considered for admission to the school. The Governors will judge whether a candidate fulfils these requirements by reference to tests to be taken at the school.
Please Note: The school will be oversubscribed once more than 180 candidates score at least 66 out of 80 on the Non Verbal Reasoning (NVR) test.
Over-subscription
Where the number of candidates for admission exceeds the number of places available the Governors will allocate places in the following order of priority:
- Those who are able to travel daily from their home address by public transport in under one hour. Parents intending to move within the one hour criteria must provide a solicitor’s letter stating this intention before the NVR test in October.
- A maximum of 20 students who show exceptional musical talent and achievement provided that, on the evidence shown by achievement in the entrance tests, they are also capable of maintaining the academic progress expected of the rest of the Latymer intake; evidence of exceptional musical talent on any instrument or instruments (including voice) is accepted. As a guideline a pupil should have achieved at least Grade 5 distinction level, but this will depend on instrument as well as previous opportunity and experience. Consideration will be given to candidates without that level of qualification but who otherwise show evidence of exceptional musical talent and achievement. Candidates may be asked to attend auditions.
- The 160 candidates who, on evidence of tests show the highest level of academic potential.
- In either of the categories 2 and 3 above, where two or more candidates have the same total score the following order of priority will be applied.
- Test score in first round test taken by the applicants
- Test score in second round tests taken by the top 500-700 in first round test
Tests
All eligible candidates for admission in September 2008 will be required to take a NVR Test at the school in the half-term holiday in October 2007 (<CLICK FOR DATES>). During the tests, the Headteacher will talk to parents/guardians regarding the admission process.
Candidates, who achieve the required level on the NVR Test, will be asked to take further tests of Verbal Reasoning (VR) and Literacy (together these will provide an overall result for English) and Mathematics on: <CLICK FOR DATES>. As soon as possible after the NVR Test, parents will be advised if their child is to take these tests.
Following all of the above, the Governors will select the 180 candidates to whom they wish to offer places, and will notify the London Borough of Enfield who will be co-ordinating the process with all other Boroughs. The final results of the Secondary Transfer Procedure will be communicated to parents early in March by their own Local Authority.
Admissions to Years 8-11
When a vacancy arises for Years 8 - 11 all applications currently held on file are considered. The Governors base their decisions on the results of tests in English, Mathematics and a foreign language learned at school, chosen from French, German or Russian.
As with admission to Year 7, in the event of over-subscription, Governors will give priority to candidates who live within one hour’s travelling distance by public transport.
Admissions to Year 12
The Governors offer places each September to 50 pupils from other schools.
There were 310 applications for the 50 places available in Year 12 in September 2006.
Applications must be submitted electronically, unless there are exceptional reasons why this is impossible, in which case, please contact the school. On-line forms are available on the school web-site, at Latymer.co.uk, from November.
Open Evening for sixth form entry is at the end of January.
Admission Criteria
Only students with the minimum academic requirements are eligible for admission to the sixth form. The requirements are: students must achieve at least A grades in the subjects they wish to study at AS-level; and students must achieve at least 6 grade A's overall in the GCSE examinations. Provisional offers of places are made based upon mock exam results and predicted GCSE grades and, for external applicants, a test taken at Latymer in the Spring Term.
Over-subscription
Where the number of candidates for admission exceeds the number of places available the Governors will, in order to avoid over-large classes, bear in mind subject choices of external applicants. The school will allocate places from among candidates in the following order of priority:
- Those who are able to travel daily from their home address by public transport in under one hour.
- The Latymer test
- Predicted GCSE exam results
- Mock GCSE results
Test
All applicants will be required to come to Latymer to sit a test. This is to check on potential, rather than to test knowledge. It is provided by the National Foundation
for Educational Research, and marked and standardised for age by them. No practice papers are available. Photographic evidence of identity is required for those who come to sit the test.
Appeals Procedure
The Governors may refuse an application for admission to the School if:
- the child’s admission to the school would be incompatible with the approved admissions arrangements, or
- the child’s admission would, in the opinion of the Governing Body, prejudice efficient education or the efficient use of resources, or
- the child has a statement of special educational needs which names a school other than The Latymer School, Edmonton.
Where a child has been refused admission to the School the parent has the right to appeal against that decision.
In the case of applications for Year 7 parents should appeal before the middle of March and appeal hearings will take place in April or early May.
In the case of applications at other times the parents should appeal within 15 days of receipt of the Governors’ letter refusing a place at the school.
Appeals will be heard by an Appeals Committee who act independently of the Governors in making their decisions. The proceedings of the Appeal Committee are informal and are held at the school. Parents have the opportunity, if they wish, to question the Governors’ Representative and to put their case to the Committee. For Years 8 to 11, appeals are held three times a year; in November, February and June/July.
For Year 12, appeals are held in September.