In Newcastle 96% of Newcastle parents will be offered a preferred reception school place on national offer day, Monday 18 April 2016, with 86% being offered their first preference.
In a city like Newcastle with a number of schools within a relatively small geographical area accessible by good transport links, parents and children have a wider range of potential options about which school they would like to go to – and demand for some schools can be very high. In comparison, some more rural areas will have far fewer schools which increases the likelihood that first preferences can be met, as in reality choice is limited to only one or two local schools.
Parents will be notified of their child’s offer by email on Monday 18 April if they applied online; otherwise offers will be communicated by letter which will be posted second class on Monday. Those who applied on a paper form, or asked not to be notified by email, should expect to receive their offer in the post by Wednesday 20 April. The only legal offer of a school place is the offer made directly by your home local authority, i.e. the local authority that your child lives in.
Parents must respond to accept the offer by 2 May, after which places that have not been accepted may be reallocated to other children as part of the waiting list process.
Although the overall admissions picture is very positive, offer day will bring disappointment to the 140 parents who will not be offered a preferred school. We are providing the following guidance and support to those parents:
1. We advise that you accept the alternative school we have offered as this is currently the nearest school to your home with a place. The majority of schools in Newcastle are judged Good or Outstanding by Ofsted. We encourage you to contact the school you have been allocated and talk to them about how they can support your child. Don’t act in haste to refuse the place. If you refuse the place, it will not improve your chances of getting a place in a preferred school and any other school will be further from home.
2. Your child will automatically go on the waiting list for any school ranked higher on your application than the school we have offered you. The first waiting list process will run on 9 May and we will contact you then if we can offer your child a place in a higher preference school. Please note that we will automatically remove the original offer, even if you have accepted it so, if you wish to be removed from the waiting lists for higher preference schools, you must tell us.
3. If you are unhappy with the school you have been offered, you may wish to apply for a different school that still has spaces by completing a new application form – see www.newcastle.gov.uk/
4. The schools with spaces after offer day are listed below.
Atkinson Road Primary Academy
Benton Park Primary School
Bridgewater Primary School
Broadway East First School
Broadwood Primary School
Byker Primary School
Christ Church CE Primary
Excelsior Academy
Hotspur Primary School
Kenton Bar Primary School
Lemington Riverside Primary School
Newburn Manor Primary School
North Fawdon Primary School
Ravenswood Primary School
Simonside Community Primary School
South Gosforth First School
St Catherine’s Catholic Primary School
St Cuthbert’s RC Primary School (Walbottle)
St George’s RC Primary School
St Paul’s CE Primary School
Throckley Primary School
Waverley Primary School
West Denton Primary School
West Newcastle Academy
Westgate Hill Primary School
5. Any new application you submit now will replace your original application so you must include the names of every school you still wish to be considered for, including original schools, if you wish to remain on their waiting list. You may only apply to a maximum of 4 schools in any local authority at any time.
6. If you applied late for a school place, in other words after 15 January 2016, or change your preferences, these applications will be processed together in the second waiting list which runs on 6 June.
7. Parents who would like support and advice after receiving their offer should read the information about offer day on the council website and the frequently asked questions. If you have any further questions, contact the Admissions and Information Service by email at admissions.information@