Croydon Council is inviting residents to give their views on proposed changes to the borough’s school admission policy – the council’s criteria for admissions and appeals for primary and secondary schools in the borough.
The purpose of the admissions policy is to make sure that school places are allocated and offered openly and fairly. It also publishes the admission numbers for schools.
The government’s School Admission Code 2021 requires admission authorities to consult on their admission arrangements for its community schools at least once every seven years and consult on any proposed changes.
Following Croydon’s review, the council is proposing changes to its admission arrangements, including the reduction of published admission numbers for two Croydon community schools from September 2026.
Beulah Junior School in Thornton Heath is proposing a reduction in places from 90 to 60.
Winterbourne Infants School, also in Thornton Heath, is proposing reducing intake numbers from 150 to 120.
The proposals are a result of surplus places, across the borough, owing to lower birth rate.
Other proposed changes are in line with resident feedback and include providing more detail around definitions to make the criteria clearer for those making applications.
The consultation is open and runs until Friday 13 December 2024. See the council website.
“As part of our review of Croydon’s school admissions policy we have listened to the feedback received and have suggested changes to make the policy easier to understand for those going through the school admissions process.
“The proposal to reduce intake numbers for Beulah Junior and Winterbourne Infants schools follows the lower number of applications the schools have seen since our last policy review. Before we decide on the changes, I encourage any residents who feel they may be impacted to take part in the consultation.”
Jason Perry, Executive Mayor of Croydon
