Admissions policy

Applications for places at The City Academy, Hackney will be made in accordance with the Hackney Education co-ordinated admission arrangements.

Oversubscription criteria

All children applying to the academy, including children with statements of Special Educational Needs and looked after children, will be required to take the Cognitive Ability Tests (CAT4 Level C) designed by GL Assessments. Children who do not sit the test will be considered after those who sit the test.

Applicants will be placed in one of four bands, based on their performance in the test. An equal number of children will be assigned to each band (where possible) based on the range of ability of the applicants. Each band represents approximately 25% of the applicants. Children with EHCP identifying SEND and looked after children are included in the appropriate band. If they are unable to take the test, their band allocation will be based on their primary school teacher assessments. The academy will consider all applicants for places. Where fewer than 190 applications are received, the academy will offer places to all those who have applied.

After the admission of pupils with EHCP identifying SEND where The City Academy, Hackney is named and the number of applications for admission is greater than the published capacity, applications will be considered within each band against the following criteria:

1. Looked after children and those previously looked after children, including in state care outside of England (children who were looked after but ceased to be so because they were adopted or became subject to a child arrangement order or special guardianship order). A looked after child is a child who is (i) in the care of a local authority, or (ii) being provided with accommodation by a local authority in the exercise of their social services functions (see the definition in Section 22 (1) of the Children Act 1989).
2. A child subject to a child protection plan
3. Children with a sibling on roll at the academy in years 7 to 13 at the time of application (siblings must live permanently at the same address as the child for whom the application is being made; this includes half brothers and sisters, stepbrothers and sisters and foster brother and sisters who live permanently as a family unit at the same address as the child). All children from multiple births will be offered a place if one meets the criteria for admission in any of the four bands.
4. Up to a maximum of nine children (across all bands) resident in the City of London (if more than nine students apply, selection within fair bands to be determined by drawing lots).
5. Children of staff employed at the academy, where a member of staff has been employed for two or more years at the time at which the application is being made, and/or the member of staff is recruited to fill a vacant post for which there is a demonstrable skills shortage.
6. Students will then be offered places on the basis of the proximity of their home (permanent residence) to the main entrance of the academy measured in a straight line on a map or using a GIS system (proximity is measured using a straight line measurement from the main entrance of the academy to the main entrance of the child’s home).

Tie break

Random allocation undertaken by an independent body will be used as a tiebreaker in categories 2 – 6 above to decide who has highest priority for a place if the distance between a child’s home and The City Academy, Hackney is equidistant in any two or more cases.

SEND Admissions

No child will be refused admission to the Academy on the basis of his or her special educational need, ethnicity or language need. In line with the Equalities Act 2010, we will not discriminate against disabled children and we will take all reasonable steps to provide effective educational provision (see Admission policy for the school, as agreed with the Local Authority).

Students with SEND are allocated places in two separate and distinct ways:

Those pupils with statements or EHCPs have a separate admissions procedure overseen by Hackney’s SEN team. Applications for children with special needs or with a disability will be treated fairly.

Those pupils who have SEND but do not have a statement or EHC plan are admitted via the normal school admissions criteria. Detailed information and guidance of how to apply for a place at The City Academy, Hackney both if your child has an EHC plan or statement of special educational needs, or if s/he has special needs but does not have a statement or EHCP, can be found on the following link: https://education.hackney.gov.uk/section/admissions-and-transfers 

Any Special Needs that are identified on admission are discussed with parents allowing the school to provide support to and put into place support mechanisms to cater for the child’s Special Educational Needs or Disabilities.

For more information, please read the SEND and Accessibility Policies here.

Who are the best people to talk to at the City of London Academy about my child’s difficulties with learning, special educational needs or disability?

You may wish to contact our SEND team, via the following details:

E-mail: fol@thecityacademy.org

Telephone: 020 8525 5440

Appeal dates & information

PLEASE READ THIS CAREFULLY.

If you have not been offered a place at City Academy Hackney, the law entitles you to appeal against that decision to an Independent Appeal Panel. This panel is completely independent of the school and the Local Authority. All appeals will be heard online which has the advantage that your appeal can be heard from your home or place of work.

If you wish to appeal, please use this link to complete your appeal online. Please do NOT use ANY other appeal form or send your form to your local authority. It is suggested that you download the explanatory booklet about appeals which you should read before you complete the appeal form – Booklet Link .

You should include any evidence or supporting material with your appeal form and you MUST give the grounds for your appeal at the time you lodge your appeal form. Your appeal form will not be accepted unless you state the grounds for your appeal. You may appeal for more than one school, but on different forms.

Any letters or reports that you wish the panel to see should be uploaded at this time.  You are asked to bear in mind that if you later send additional information, the closing date is 5 working days before the STAGE 1 hearing.  All appointed panels have agreed NOT to take any late letters or reports after the 5 working day deadline.  This will be strictly enforced.  For secondary/primary transfer appeals, the hearing will take place at least TWO months after the refusal letter.  This gives you plenty of time to get your evidence together if you act early and take account of school holidays.

Please note that the online form will ask you to download two utility bills dated in the last THREE months. If you do not have access to a scanner, please take two photographs with a mobile phone and upload the photographic files.

Full details about the hearing will be sent to you with your invitation to the hearing.

If you wish to contact the clerk – email:  clerk@educationappeals.com

The timetable for appeals is as follows:

Timetable for appeals for mid-term applications is as follows:

Timetable for appeals for the 6^th form is as follows