Admission to Secondary School (2026)

Introduction

At Lord Lawson of Beamish Academy, we allocate places at our school using the Gateshead Community, Secondary Academy Admissions Policy. We consult our governing body each year about this policy and arrange admissions to our school using the Local Authority's Co-ordinated Admission Scheme. We also use this policy and scheme when deciding the allocation of places for in year transfer/casual admissions to the school.

The admission policy is as follows: Lord Lawson of Beamish Academy will:

• Admit students between the ages of 11 and 19 • Accept students up to the academy's agreed planned admission number for the year group, unless we feel there are lawful grounds not to do so
• Normally admit students who have been referred for placement to a particular school/academy through the Pupil Placement Panel, who determine some admissions under the Fair Access protocol.

Oversubscription Criteria

We will consider applications from parents who have named the academy as any ranked preference on their application form; this is referred to as the equal preference system. If the number of applications outweigh the number of places available at the academy, we will then allocate places by using the following order of priority:

1. Children in Public Care (as defined under section 22 of the Children Act 1989) including a child who was previously 'looked after/Child In Our Care (CIOC)' but immediately after being 'looked after/CIOC' became subject to an adoption, residence, or special guardianship order, and 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
2. Children who live in the school's catchment area
3. Children who will have a brother or sister at the secondary school during the coming academic year (please refer to Sibling Link for more information)
4. Other children who have exceptional medical and social grounds (see point 1 below)
5. All other children.

Point 1 - We can consider individual applications in cases involving exceptional medical or social needs. This kind of application must be supported in writing from relevant registered health professionals i.e., a doctor or social worker. The evidence must demonstrate why the chosen school is the most suitable and what difficulties would be caused if the child were to attend another school. We will not consider such applications if the relevant evidence is not provided. The evidence will be presented to the Local Authority Pupil Placement Panel. Each case will be considered individually. No assumption should be made that submission of the relevant evidence will, in itself, be sufficient to allocate a place.

Tie Breaker

If, within any of the above criteria there are more applications submitted than places available at the school, priority will be given to children based on the distance they live from the school, measured 'as the crow flies' in a straight line from the centre of the home residence to the academy's main entrance. Children living nearest to the school will have priority. Distance is measured using a geographical information system (GIS). Where two or more applicants share the exact same distance, a random allocation process will be used to determine the ranked order of the applications in question.

Sibling Link

For a child to receive priority because of an older brother or sister in the sixth form at the school, the brother or sister must have been at the school at the start of year 11.

Address

For the purposes of deciding whether a child lives in the catchment area of the school we will use the parent's or guardian's address or the address of a relevant adult who has parental responsibility, as defined under the 1989 Children Act, for the child.

Waiting List

If places become available, we will consider all relevant applications using a waiting list. The waiting list will be maintained for the academy by the Local Authority from the start of the academic year. All applicants on the waiting list are placed according to the admission criteria and priorities set out above. However, children who are the subject of a direction to admit by the Local Authority (LA) or who have been referred for admission and have been allocated a place through the Fair Access Protocol, will take precedence over any child on the waiting list.

Appeals

If you are refused a place to your preferred school of choice, you have the right to appeal and may also request that your child's name is placed on the school's waiting list. Any appeal should be directed to school admissions at Gateshead Council: www.gateshead.gov.uk/schooladmissions

Important Dates

From Monday 8 September 2025 Gateshead residents can apply on-line at www.gateshead.gov.uk. On-line applications must be submitted by Friday 31 October 2025.

Alternatively, parents and carers can request a paper application form from The Schools Admissions Team at [email protected]. Paper applications must be returned to: The School Admissions Team, Floor 2, Civic Centre,Gateshead, NE8 1HH, and must be received by them by Friday 31 October 2025.

Any parent or carer who experiences difficulty applying online should contact The School Admissions Team on (0191) 433 3909, or 433 6185, by no later than Friday 31 October 2025.

If you live outside of Gateshead and want to apply to a Gateshead school, you must obtain an application form from your Council and return it to them by their closing date, even if the schools you want to apply to are in Gateshead. However, you must still consider the information in Gateshead Council's 'Admission to secondary school' booklet so that you know what the admission arrangements are for Gateshead schools. This information is available at: www. gateshead.gov.uk. Your own Council will send us notification of your application and they will let you know the final allocation of a school place for your child.

Offer Date

A letter will be sent to parents resident in Gateshead on or around 2 March 2026 informing them of the school they have been offered for their child. Gateshead residents who apply on-line are also informed by email on or around 2 March 2026.

General Information and Definitions

For information on our admission arrangements please refer to the 'Admission to secondary school' booklet using the link above. An explanation of the terms used in this policy can be found towards the end of this document. The co-ordinated admission scheme referred to in this policy can also be viewed on the website at www.gateshead.gov.uk.

Secondary Admissions Timeline for Parents/Carers

• 8 September 2025 - Online system opens for parents to apply
• 31 October 2025 - Closing date for submitting applications
• 2 March 2026 - Offer letters and emails sent to parents
• 10 April 2026 - Any places that become available will be offered from the schools waiting list
• May/June 2026 - Appeals heard

See an explanation of the terms used in this policy.