Admissions

Places for September

This page provides information for parents/carers considering making an application for a child transferring from primary school in September. If you are considering making an application at any other time please read the In-Year section below or for more information please contact us.

While parents have the right to choose a preferred school, the number of places available at that school may limit the choice. Recently John of Gaunt has been over-subscribed and therefore places are allocated strictly in line with the admission code and our criteria. If John of Gaunt is your school of choice (and we very much hope that it is), it is important you put us as first choice on your application form for a Year 7 place.

The John of Gaunt School takes students from across Trowbridge plus the surrounding towns and villages. It is typical for us to have 25+ feeder primary schools in any year group.

School Tours & Open Events:

Parents of Year 5 & 6, and those looking to transfer in other year groups, are encouraged to book a personal tour of the school to see us in action on a typical school day. Please contact Wingfield reception on 01225 762637 to book a convenient time.

Transition:

The John of Gaunt School has a long-standing and well-developed relationship with our feeder primary schools. All primary schools in Trowbridge will bring their Year 5 pupils to visit us for a day and many pupils will visit our site to take part in the variety of primary school events we offer.

Once we know which Year 6 pupils will be joining us, members of our Senior Leadership Team and Individual Learning Department will visit the pupils in their primary schools. Year 6 pupils will all attend our induction day in July and some students will be identified for additional visits. We prioritise collecting as much information as possible about each student from primary schools, both academic and pastoral, in order to support their transition and accelerate their progress on joining us.

Admission Arrangements for Year 7 September:

For entry into Year 7, parents must complete Wiltshire Council’s secondary school admissions form, in hard copy or electronically, by 31st October. Details can be found at https://www.wiltshire.gov.uk/schools-learning-admissions-applying

You can still apply after the deadline date, but it will be considered a late application. Late applications can be submitted online using the online system.

Please contact the Admissions Team at County Hall on 01225 713000 for further details of how to apply.

Due to increasing numbers applying for school places we strongly recommend that parents make The John of Gaunt School their “first preference” and apply on time to secure a place.

Please refer to the school’s Admission Policy for criteria applied in the event of over-subscription.

Admissions Calendar

Date	Action
31 October 2024	Deadline All paper and online applications must be received by midnight. Applications received after the deadline without exceptional reasons are not considered until all the applications received on time have been allocated. You are less likely to secure a place at your preferred school, and you will not receive an offer of a place until late April 2024. It is important that you apply on time to avoid disappointment.
16 December 2024	Exceptional circumstances deadline Only in exceptional circumstances such as those listed here will a late application be considered at the same time as applications received by the deadline of 31 October 2024. Where there has been a change of family circumstances after the deadline date which has a significant effect on the preferences given on the original application. (If this is a house move this must have been completed with an exchange of contracts before 16 December 2024) A move into Wiltshire from outside the county after the deadline date but before 16 December 2024. Confirmation of the new address (in the form of an exchange of contracts or a tenancy agreement) must be provided before 16 December 2024 Service personnel moving to a Wiltshire address after the deadline date. A posting notice must be provided before 16 December 2024 Where a common application form has not been received by the local authority, but the parent can provide proof of posting. Such late applications can only be considered if they are received by the local authority on, or before, 16 December 2024. Documentary evidence should be provided with the application (or at the latest by 16 December 2024) to verify the circumstances which caused the late application to be made. If evidence cannot be provided, the application will not be treated as an exception. Applications received after the deadline without exceptional reasons are not considered until all the applications received on time have been allocated. You are less likely to secure a place at your preferred school, and you will not receive an offer of a place until 28 April 2024.
November 2024 - February 2025	The School Admissions Team Will liaise with schools and other authorities to make sure that, where possible, parents get a single offer for the highest preference school able to offer a place
1 March 2025	Offer day Letters are posted to all parents who applied by the 31 October 2024 deadline offering them a place at one school Parents who apply online will be able to log back on to the online system on national offer day to view the outcome of their application You will require your username and password which was created at the time of application. It is important that you keep these details safe as the school admissions team are not able to send duplicate emails to you confirming these details. You will also receive confirmation of the offer by letter.
15 March 2025	Deadline For parents to accept the place they have been offered If you have been refused a place at your preferred school you can appeal and request that your child's name is added to the waiting lists Further information will be contained in the decision letter that will be posted out to you on national offer day
28 April 2025	Second round offers Late applicants (second round applications received between 1 November 2025 and 9 March 2025) will be considered alongside any applicants who were refused in the first round All applications will be considered in line with the schools individual over subscription criterion and any spare place and places that have become available after the 1 March offer day, will be reallocated For further information about the process for allocation places please view 'Determined Co-ordinated Scheme for Primary Schools' which can be found by clicking on (forms, guides and policy document).
18 May 2025	Third round offers Late applicants (third round applications received after 09 March 2025) will be considered alongside any applicants who were refused in the first and second round All applications will be considered in line with the schools individual over subscription criterion and any spare place and places that have become available after the 1 March offer day, will be reallocated For further information about the process for allocation places please view 'Determined Co-ordinated Scheme for Primary Schools' which can be found by clicking on (forms, guides and policy document).
May -July 2025	Appeals are heard
31 August 2025	Deadline Any applications received after this date will be considered as in-year transfer applications
September 2025	Your child starts secondary school
Last day of summer term 2025	Waiting lists are closed

Admission arrangements for all other year groups:

For entry into all other year groups, including Year 7 at a point other than the start of September, parents will need to complete the Wiltshire Council ‘In Year Transfer Form’, which can be downloaded from the Wiltshire Council website.

Completed forms must be returned to Wiltshire Council at the address above.

We advise parents to contact the school to discuss your application and book a tour before completing the form.

Admissions to Sixth Form

For students applying to our Sixth Form, this year applications will be different and will be online. All year 11 students at JOG will receive an email where they will need to register and select their choices. We would like your applications in by 14^th December. Applications after this date will still be considered.

If you are a year 11 student attending another educational establishment, please email sixthform@jogschool.org for further details.

Admissions Policy 2024-2025

To appeal an admissions decision, please see the following information.

http://www.wiltshire.gov.uk/schools-learning-admissions-appealing

FAQs on admissions:

1. What policy is used to admit children to the school?

The admissions policy is published each year by the school; any changes having been consulted on with the Local Authority and Community. For more information please see our admissions policy 2024-2025

2. What is your catchment area?

We take children from all over West Wiltshire. Villages including Holt, Staverton, Hilperton, Dilton Marsh, West Ashton, Wingfield, North Bradley, Lavington, Westwood and many others are home to our students. While towns like Bradford on Avon, Devizes, Warminster, Westbury, Melksham and of course Trowbridge are the main places where our students live.

Within and around Trowbridge we have students from every Primary School.

The designated area is the geographical zone served by the school can be found at:

https://www.wiltshire.gov.uk/schools-learning-forms-guides-policies

3. How does my child get a year 7 place at the school?

At the start of Year 6, you will be sent a letter about the secondary transfer process and about how to apply for a secondary school place. You apply to the local authority by the closing date of 31 October, for a school place the next year.

4. When will I hear if my child has got a place?

On 1 March an offer of a school place is made to parents/carers who have applied by the closing date.

By mid-March, parents/carers must accept or reject the offer made by the Local Authority.

5. What if my child is not offered a place in the first round of allocations on 1 March?

Although you may not be allocated a place at this point in the process, this does not mean that a place may not be allocated at a later date; there can be quite a lot of movement during the successive allocation rounds. If places become available, then these places will be offered in the second round of allocations. A second round of offer letters is sent out in the first week of May.

6. How are places at the school allocated?

According to the admissions criteria which are published in our admissions policy 1024-2025

7. Do I need to submit a supplementary application form direct to the school?

There is no supplementary application form to complete and send to the school. Be sure to apply to the Local Authority by the deadline on 31^st October.

8. How many students were admitted into Year 7 previously?

September 2024 - 265 students