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Admissions

Admissions

West Bromwich Collegiate Academy is a non-selective, non-denominational Academy for the community and our admissions policy reflects this. Each year we have 150 places available.

Our inclusive admissions process will at all times be open, transparent and fair, and will meet the requirements of the national Schools Admissions Code, the Appeals Code and admissions legislation. West Bromwich Collegiate Academy will process applications inside the normal Local Authority process for co-ordinating school offers. We will be able to accept applications for places through the normal Sandwell admissions process.

Applications for the Academy are currently closed for September 2020 and all places have been filled.

Applications for September 2021 have now closed.

 

Mid-Year Transfers

Our waiting list for Year 7 students is managed by Sandwell LEA until Christmas.

Please contact Sandwell Admissions. to enquire about Year 7 places up until 31 December 2020.

If you would like to apply for a place for a Year 7 student from January onwards or for a Year 8 student at any time, please complete this online form to be added to our waiting list.

Open Evening 2020

Our Virtual Open Evening will take place on Wednesday, 30 September 2020 between 4:30pm and 8pm.

We will showcase our Academy by creating a ‘virtual school’ where you will be able to explore West Bromwich Collegiate Academy by going on a virtual tour. You will be able to view lots of videos of activities, student work, presentations by staff, and student insights into life at WBCA. There will be a number of live events broadcast on Wednesday, 30th September, including a presentation from Principal, George Faux and the opportunity to ask any questions.

The Open Evening site will launch on Wednesday 30th September and will remain active until the deadline for applications (31st October 2020).

Please Note: We will not be offering any group or individual tours of the Academy on the open evening or at any other time due to strict social distancing restrictions. Please do not attend the Academy in person on the date of the Open Evening as you will unfortunately be turned away.

If you are interested in applying to the Academy for your child and they have an EHCP please contact [email protected] for further information.

Fair Banding Admissions Test

All students who have applied for a Year 7 place starting in September 2021 will receive an invitation to sit a Fair Banding Admissions Test at the Academy.

We can now confirm that these tests will take place on between Monday 7th December and Thursday 10th December 2020 at West Bromwich Collegiate Academy.

You will receive a letter early next week with the exact date and time of your child’s test, including the Covid regulations that families must follow. With the announced end of national restrictions you should have confidence that we will make sure we take every precaution to ensure the process is completely Covid secure.

We look forward to meeting your child in the near future. If you do not receive a letter by Wednesday, please contact the Academy.

It is very important that your child attends this test if they wish to attend West Bromwich Collegiate Academy. Due to the large number of applications we have had for places in Year 7, failure to sit the examination will mean that your child will only be considered for a place after all students who have taken the test have been allocated, this includes applicants with siblings at the Academy, practically this means they are extremely unlikely to be given a place.

Please emphasise to your child that there is no ‘pass’ or ‘fail’. The results of the assessment will be used to place your child in one of five ability bands and places will be offered to the same number of children from each band. This will be done by Sandwell Local Authority, not by the Academy.

Accepting your place and before you arrive

On 1st March 2021 you will receive an e-mail from the Local Authority which will tell you which school you have been allocated. If you applied using a paper application form, you will receive a letter in the first few days of March 2021. You must accept or reject the school your child has been allocated. Following this, the Authority will provide us with a list of students who have been allocated a place and we will write to you with a welcome pack. If you wish to appeal the decision you can do this through the Sandwell Admissions website.

As we are still a new and relatively small Academy, our transition arrangements of what we can offer in terms of a Summer School are still under review. However if your child has any particular needs you can always contact us to arrange a meeting.

Still looking for more information?

If you would like further information about the Academy you can find it throughout the website, contact us or access an online copy of our prospectus here.

If you would like the detail of our Admissions Policy you can access it here.

Frequently Asked Questions

  • What forms do I have to fill in?

    You need to complete the online form here. There are no further forms to complete.

  • Is there a test?

    Like many schools in Sandwell we operate a Fair Banding Test to make sure we have an equal number of students of all abilities in the Academy. Doing well or badly in the test does not increase your chance of gaining a place at the Academy but will place you into one of 5 bands. We then take an equal number of students from each band. There was no test in 2018-19 as the Academy was not open. All children who applied for a September 2020 place took the fair banding test and all children who apply to join us in September 2021 must sit the test.

  • What is the test?

    It is a non-verbal reasoning test which involves activities such as shape matching and pattern recognition. Children cannot revise or prepare for the test and the scores will not be shared with children or families. Staff at West Bromwich Collegiate Academy do not find out the results to the tests. A good or poor performance in the test will not improve your child’s chance of gaining a place at West Bromwich Collegiate Academy.

  • Do siblings have priority?

    Yes, but they must still sit the Fair Banding Test.

  • What are the criteria for admissions?

    Students are accepted in the following order:

    • Students in Care
    • Students with an EHCP
    • Siblings
    • Distance from the Academy
  • When will I find out if my child has a place?

    Places are allocated to you via Sandwell on National Offer Day, which is usually early in March.