Admission to Secondary School (2025)

If you want to apply for a place at Emmanuel College, you must read the below information and apply directly to them. You cannot apply to Emmanuel College on Gateshead's application form. If you apply and subsequently receive and accept an offer of a place at Emmanuel College, Gateshead Council will consider your acceptance at the college as your child's final school placement for September 2024. Gateshead Council will not proceed to consider any of the preferences ranked on your application form for a Gateshead Secondary School, unless you inform us otherwise, however, we will write to you in January 2024 to confirm this.

Emmanuel College is a City Technology College (CTC) with a mixed sex, comprehensive secondary school intake and a sixth form. It is part of Emmanuel Schools Foundation, a multi-academy trust. The Trust is the 'Admission Authority' for Emmanuel College and has a legal duty to formally determine the admission arrangements for each year's intake in accordance with the requirements of the Code.

The Trust Board delegates the task of determining the admission arrangements each year to the Local Governing Body of Emmanuel College. Thereafter, Emmanuel College's admission arrangements are determined and implemented by a committee of three Governors or Trustees, which is called the Admission Committee, who are assisted by the Admissions Officer. The school's funding agreement determines that the CTC will admit pupils of different abilities who, in the judgment of the Principal, are most likely to benefit from what the College has to offer, who have the strongest motivation to succeed and who intend to continue in full time education or training up to the age of 18 years. The Principal judges that all pupils who apply to Emmanuel College, being aware of the nature of the education on offer and who attend the admissions test, have the motivation to succeed and will benefit from what the College has to offer. The CTC has an emphasis on science and technology and therefore selects no more than 10% of pupils on the basis of aptitude for these subjects.

Admission to Year 7 

Published admission number (PAN) and eligibility to apply

Emmanuel College has an agreed admission number of 240 pupils for entry in Year 7. We will accordingly admit up to 240 pupils in the relevant age group, each year, if sufficient applications are received. All applicants will be admitted if 240 or fewer apply.

Admission is open to all pupils without regard to their sex, race, religion or ability.

Pupils admitted into Year 7 must be 11 years of age on 1 September in the year in which they join College. Families may seek a place for their child outside of his/her normal age group for circumstances such as ill health or when the child has experienced problems.

Application process

Parents or guardians wishing to apply for a place at Emmanuel College for their child must do so on the relevant College electronic application form. Hard copy application forms are obtainable on request by sending an A4 SAE to "The Admissions Officer", or by visiting the College reception during office hours. The deadline for applications is 31 October in the year prior to entry to Year 7. Late applications will be considered only after all on-time applications have been processed.

Timeline for admissions

Ability banding

Emmanuel College uses 'banding' to ensure a comprehensive intake that represents the full range of abilities. All applicants are invited to take a non-verbal reasoning test as provided by GL assessment, examples of which are available here. The test has no pass or fail mark.

The results of the test will allocate applicants to one of nine groups (known as 'bands') ranging from highest to lowest ability. The number of places allocated to each band is determined by the national distribution of abilities, by applying national percentages in each band to the number of places available within the published admission number. This means that there will be more places available in the middle bands than the highest or lowest ability bands, as shown in the table below.

If there are fewer applications than places available in any given band, they will be supplemented by evenly filling them with applicants falling into the next bands.

Pupils not sitting the ability test will be considered for a place but only after all those who did attend testing have been considered.

Aptitude test

Applicants wishing to be considered for a place based on their aptitude for technology must register for the test by 31 August 2024 and take the test on 7 September 2024. Emmanuel College will admit up to 10% of the cohort (24 applicants) on the basis on their age standardised score on the technology aptitude test.

Parents will be informed of the outcome of aptitude test before the closing date for applications on 31 October.

Catchment area and home address

The College catchment area includes most of the Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead and large parts of Newcastle. It incorporates the following areas: NE1 (part of), NE2 (part of), NE4, NE5 (part of), NE8, NE9, NE10, NE11, NE15 (part of), NE16, NE21 and DH9 9.. The Newcastle northern and eastern boundary follows the line of Stamfordham Road and its continuation into the A167 to the River Tyne. The Newcastle western boundary is defined by North Walbottle Road and its continuation into Walbottle Road, the A6085 west and Station Road to the River Tyne.

Applicants are welcome to apply who live outside the catchment area, but priority will be given to applicants who are within the catchment.

For the purposes of deciding whether a child lives in the catchment area of a school we will use the parent or guardian's address or the address of a relevant adult who has parental responsibility for the child. If a child resides between parents for different parts of the week the parents must agree and nominate one of their addresses to be used for the application.

Parents will be asked to provide proof of address by providing a copy of the council tax bill for 2024- 25. Where parents do not provide proof of address, the applicant will be placed into band 7 of the oversubscription criteria, as outlined below.

Misleading or fraudulent information

Where any uncertainty arises in respect of the child's home address, Emmanuel College reserves the right to seek further documentary evidence to determine which address meets the definition stated above. If the allocation of a place is made based on fraudulent or intentionally misleading information, Emmanuel College reserve the right to withdraw the place.

Offers

Offers will be made by 31 January in the year the child will be admitted, or the next working day if this falls on a weekend.

Children with Educational Health Care Plans (EHCP)

Where the Local Authority propose to name Emmanuel College in an EHCP for an applicant, we shall consent to being named. The exception to this is where admitting the applicant would be incompatible with the provision of efficient education for other children, and where no reasonable steps may be made to address this. When making this decision, we shall have regard to the relevant guidance issued by the Secretary of State to maintained schools.

Oversubscription criteria

Where there are more applicants than places (within each band), after the admission of pupils with an EHCP where Emmanuel College is named in the plan, priority for admission will be given to those children who meet the criteria set out below, in the following order:

1. Children in Public Care (and as deemed under Section 22 of the Children Act 1989) including a child who was previously "looked after" but immediately after being "looked after" became subject to an adoption, residence, or special guardianship order. Children who appear to have been in state care outside of England and ceased to be in state care as result of being adopted.
2. Children of staff living within the catchment area of Emmanuel College and employed at Emmanuel College fulfilling either or both of the following circumstances:
   1. Where the member of staff has been employed at the school for two or more years at the time at which the application for admission to the school is made, and/or
   2. The member of staff is recruited to fill a vacant post for which there is a demonstrable skill shortage.
3. Children living within the catchment area of Emmanuel College with a proven aptitude for technology, as assessed through the aptitude test (up to 10% of the total published admission number). If there are insufficient numbers within the ability band to admit all applicants with an aptitude for technology, places will be allocated within the band using the oversubscription criteria below.
4. Children living within the catchment area of Emmanuel College who have siblings currently attending the school at the time of the application and when the applicant child is due to be admitted. Sibling is defined as children who live as brother or sister in the same house, including natural brothers or sisters, adopted siblings, stepbrothers or sisters and long-term foster brothers and sisters. For your child to receive priority because of an older brother or sister in the Sixth Form at the College, the brother or sister must have been at the College at the start of Year 11. If there are insufficient numbers within the ability band to admit all applicants with siblings, places will be allocated within the band using the oversubscription criteria below.
5. Children living within the catchment area of Emmanuel College and eligible for the pupil premium (any type); up to a maximum of 35% of the places available within any ability band. Where there are more applicants than places, priority for admission will be given to children who live nearest to the school. Distances are measured 'as the crow flies' from the main entrance of the child's home to the main entrance of the school as specified by GIS. Where two or more applicants share the same distance, a random allocation process will be used to determine the ranked order of the applications in question.
6. Other children living within the catchment area of Emmanuel College, with priority for admission given to children who live nearest to the school.
7. Other children by distance from the school, with priority for admission given to children who live nearest to the school.
8. Applicants who did not sit the ability band test, with priority for admission given to children who live in the catchment area and nearest to the school.

Siblings of multiple birth

Where a twin, triplet(s) or sibling(s) of a higher multiple birth achieves a place, but their twin, triplet(s) or sibling(s) of a higher multiple birth does not achieve a place, Emmanuel College will admit their twin, triplet(s) or sibling(s) of a higher multiple birth even where this means exceeding the published admission number.

Waiting lists

For any child not allocated a place, a waiting list is available where priority will be given according to the oversubscription criteria and will be based on the information provided at the time of application.

In-year admission

Fair Access Protocol

Emmanuel College is committed to taking its fair share of children who are vulnerable and/or hard to place, as set out in locally agreed protocols. Accordingly, outside the normal admission round, the governing body is empowered to give priority to a student where admission is requested under any local protocol that has been agreed by the governing body for the current school year, even when admitting the student would mean exceeding the published admission number.

All other in-year admissions

For pupils looking for a school place because they have recently moved into the area, or pupils at another secondary school that feel that a change of school would benefit their education and/or general well-being, they are entitled to apply for a school place.

To apply, their parent or carer should complete the admissions form here and provide a copy of their child's most recent school report.

As Emmanuel College is typically oversubscribed each year, we hold a waiting list for each year group that is ordered according to specific criteria which enables us to ensure there is an objective and transparent approach to offering places to pupils when they become available.

Oversubscription criteria

If there are no school places available, priority for admission will be given to those children who meet the criteria set out below, in the following order (clarification on these criteria are outlined above):

1. Looked after and previously looked after children.
2. Service personnel and crown servants who are being re-posted or are returning from overseas. The application should be accompanied with an official letter stating the relocation date.
3. Children of staff employed at Emmanuel College.
4. Children who have siblings currently attending the school, with priority for admission given to children who live within the catchment area and nearest to the school.
5. Children living within the catchment area of Emmanuel College and eligible for the pupil premium (any type), with priority for admission given to children who live nearest to the school.
6. Other children living within the catchment area of Emmanuel College, with priority for admission given to children who live nearest to the school.
7. Other children by distance from the school, with priority for admission given to children who live nearest to the school

Sixth form admissions

Applications can be made during Year 11 up to the deadline of 1 September of the year of entry. Pupils admitted into Year 12 must be 16 or 17 years of age on 1 September in the year in which they join College.

The published admission number for external applicants to Year 12 is 20 pupils. Existing Year 11 pupils will transfer into Year 12, if they meet the entry criteria for the courses they wish to study and want to continue their education in the sixth form. The subject specific requirements are published each year in our Sixth Form Prospectus and apply equally to internal and external applicants.

A pre-admission meeting may take place for any applicant to discuss courses and entry requirements. Applicants should note that this is not an interview and will play no part in whether a place is offered or not.

Once the total number of places allocated to internal pupils and external candidates within a year group are known, it may be possible to admit further external candidates until Year 12 reaches capacity.

Oversubscription criteria

Should a course be oversubscribed, priority for admission will be given to those children who meet the criteria set out below, in the following order (clarification on these criteria are outlined above):

1. Looked after and previously looked after children.
2. Children who have siblings currently attending the school.
3. Other children by distance from the school, with priority for admission given to children who live nearest to the school

Appeals

Parent(s) wishing to appeal against the decision on admissions, for any year group, should complete an appeal form stating the reason for the appeal, based on the published admissions criteria above.

• The deadline for appeals relating to Year 7 admissions is 14 March 2025. Completed forms should be sent to the Clerk to the Appeal Panel. The Clerk to the Appeal Panel will make an appointment for the appeal to be heard within 40 days from the deadline that appeals are to be submitted to the Clerk.
• The appeals relating to in-year admissions and sixth form can be submitted at any time to the Clerk and appeals will be heard within 30 school days.

The appeals will be heard, in private, by an Independent Appeal Panel. Only one appeal per application is allowed. The decision of the appeal panel will be binding for all parties.