Oldbury Academy is a member of Stour Vale Academy Trust, which is the Admissions Authority. The Trust Admissions Policy is based on the following advice from the Department for Education (DfE):

• the School Admissions Code 2021
• the School Admission Appeals Code

and is in line with the Trust’s funding agreement and articles of association.

Stour Vale Academy Trust has determined that its schools will comply with the co-ordinated admissions scheme for their geographical Local Authority, for Oldbury Academy this Sandwell.

If you are a parents/carer and you live in Sandwell you can access the necessary form here to apply for a place for your child(ren) at Oldbury Academy.

If you are a parent/carer from outside of Sandwell you should complete the form available from the Council area in which you live.

The published admission number (PAN) for Oldbury Academy for September 2023 is 310.

If the academy receives more applications than there are available places, after the admission of pupils with an EHCP naming the school, priority for admission will be given to those children who meet the oversubscription criteria set out below.

Oversubscription admission priorities for Oldbury Academy

1. Children who are in public care and children who were previously in public care but ceased to be so because they were adopted (or became subject to a child arrangement order or special guardianship order).This includes children who appear to have been in state care outside of England and have ceased to be in state care due to being adopted.
2. Children with a particular medical condition. Applications submitted under this criterion must be accompanied by a medical declaration form (ASU75M) signed by the child’s general practitioner or consultant confirming the condition, detailing the child’s needs and specifying why, in their opinion, the school is the only or most appropriate to meet the child’s needs. All applications under this criterion will be assessed by Sandwell local authority to decide whether the child’s needs can be met most appropriately by the school.
3. Children having a brother or sister at the school at the time of admission.
4. Children prioritised by distance measured in a straight line from a child’s home** to the centre point of the school site. In all cases, should the number of applicants exceed the number of places available, places will be allocated based on distance between home and school, as measured in a straight line from home to the centre point on the school site with priority being given to those living closest to the school.

Fair Access

Stour Vale Academy Trust has determined that all its schools will participate in the relevant local authority Fair Access Protocol. This can be viewed on the local authority website www.sandwell.gov.uk

Tie-Break

If two or more applicants tie for last place during the allocation process the final place shall be decided by the tossing of a coin.

Note: ** Measured from the Local Land and Property Gazetteer address base for the property.

Applications for in-year admissions are also co-ordinated by Sandwell Local Authority. In line with the School Admissions Code, children whose EHCP names the school as the most appropriate to meet their individual needs will be admitted. After this a student will be considered eligible for transfer if:

• There are available places in the relevant year group
• They have not been permanently excluded from two or more previous schools.

If your child’s application for a place at the school is unsuccessful, you will be informed why admission was refused and given information about how to appeal against the decision and the process for hearing appeals. The appeals will be undertaken  by Sandwell LA on behalf of Oldbury Academy.

The appeals timetable can be seen here Appeals timetable | Sandwell Council