Admissions & Appeals

The Dean Trust is the admissions authority for Dean Trust Wigan.

Dean Trust Wigan is responsible for all its own admissions although the co-ordination of admissions
arrangements into Year 7 is undertaken by Wigan Local Authority.

• Parents seeking a place for their child in Year 7 in September 2020 must include Dean Trust Wigan in ranked order of preference on their Local Authority’s Common Application Form.
• The number of places available for admission to Year 7 in September 2020 will be 205. Places will be offered by the Local Authority on 1st March 2020.
• Pupils will be admitted without reference to ability or aptitude

Over Subscription

Where the number of applicants for admission exceeds the number of places available, the following criteria will be applied, in the order set out below, to determine how places are awarded:
1. ‘Looked after’ children, including ‘previously looked after’, as defined by the School Admissions Code,
2014.
2. Children who will have an older sibling attending the School up to and including Year 11 at the time of
the applicant’s proposed admission. This includes half/step or adopted brothers or sisters, who are living
at the same address as part of the same family unit.
3. Children of staff at Dean Trust Wigan who have 2 years continuous service at the time of application.
4. Children who live nearest to the School, measured in a direct straight line from the child’s permanent
place of residence to the main entrance of the School. This will be measured using property co-ordinates
provided through a combination of the Wigan Local Land and Property Gazetteer (BS7666), other LA
data and Royal Mail Postal Address Information.
The criteria used to determine admission refer in every case to the child’s home address this means the
address where the child normally and permanently lives on a full time basis, not the address of a child minder, grandparent or any other relative.
If parents are separated and child care arrangements are shared between two addresses the average of the
distances of the two addresses from the school will be used to determine priority for admission.
We assume that you will always provide us with the correct factual information when you apply for a school
place. You should be aware that any school place that has been offered on the basis of false information
may be withdrawn and the place may be offered to another child.
If a successful applicant moves home between the date of allocation and the beginning of term in September 2019, the offer of the place will be reviewed. As a result of this review the offer may be withdrawn if an unsuccessful application is, as a result of the move, promoted to a higher priority on the Schools admissions criteria.
For all leasing agreements a minimum of 24 months leasing agreement is required with legally supporting
documentation and also documentation pertaining to the disposal of the previous home.
Any applicant who moves address must provide evidence and legal documentation to the effect they have
purchased and exchanged contracts on a property and documentation relating to proof of disposal of the
previous home.

Waiting Lists

Unsuccessful applicants may ask to be placed on a waiting list and considered for any places that may
arise in the future. These places will be awarded in accordance with the criteria listed above. These
waiting lists will be maintained to the end of the academic year that your child has applied for.

Tie Break Arrangements

In the event that following the over subscription criteria points 1 – 4 above, where two or more applicants
are otherwise unable to be separated for a place at the school, this will be decided through a random draw
conducted and scrutinised by person’s independent from the School and from the Children, Families and
Wellbeing Directorate.

Final Tie Break Arrangements

Each random allocation event only holds for the allocation of the currently available school place. On any
waiting list the remaining applicants remain equally ranked and any further place is offered as the result of a further random exercise.

Appeals

Under the terms of the School Standards Framework Act 1998 you have the right to appeal to an
Independent Appeal Panel against any decision made by the School. Parents who wish to exercise this
right must state their intention either in writing or on the school’s online form at
http://www.deantrustwigan.co.uk/ within 28 days of receipt of notification letter.

IN-YEAR ADMISSION INTO YEARS 7-11 DURING THE ACADEMIC YEAR

This section applies to applicants applying for places outside the normal admissions process:

• Pupils wishing to change schools
• Pupil moving into the area
• Pupils excluded from their school

Waiting lists are maintained for these year groups and any places that become available will be awarded
strictly in accordance with the School’s published Admissions Policy at that date with the nearest person
being awarded the place irrespective to how long they have been on the waiting list. These waiting lists will
be maintained to the end of the academic year (September – July) that your child has applied for.
All applicants for places at Dean Trust Wigan must contact the school in writing or by completing the InYear Transfer form available on our website http://www.deantrustwigan.co.uk/ under the Admissions
section.
Dean Trust Wigan reserves the right to withdraw a place, at a later date, if it is discovered that false or incorrect information has either been withheld or not provided in order to secure a place.

Click here to visit Wigan Council for guidance on  : Applying for secondary schools