Important Dates to remember:

Admission Numbers/Planned Admission Number (PAN)

This is the minimum number of pupils that a school is required to admit up to in the normal year of entry if the school is over-subscribed. The number is calculated using a DfE (Department for Education) formula, which takes into consideration the number of pupils that can be accommodated safely into the teaching space available. Schools must offer up to the Admission Number and, once reached, any further admissions would normally need to be decided by an Independent Appeals Panel.

Common Application Form

All parents must apply for a school using the Common Application Form (CAF) that will be issued by your home Local Authority. The CAF is also available online at: www.slough.gov.uk/admissions.

The form gives parents the opportunity to state a preference for up to six schools. If you are a Slough resident and wish to apply to any other school outside the Slough area, you must use the common application form you have received from Slough Borough Council. Other local authorities will not accept requests for application forms.

Equal Preference Model

You should put your preferences on the CAF in ranked order. All preferences listed on the Common Application Form are considered using the over-subscription criteria for each school regardless of where they are ranked. Where a pupil can be offered a place at more than one school on the Common Application Form, the offer will be to the highest ranked school.

Co-ordinated Admission Scheme

All parents living in Slough must apply for a school through the Co-ordinated Admission Scheme. The purpose of the scheme is to ensure that every parent receives an offer of only one place. All applications must be made on a Common Application Form. This includes applications to grammar schools, academies and schools in other LEAs. At the end of the process a single letter offering a place will be sent to all parents who have applied for a place.

St Joseph’s Catholic High School is a co-educational academy within the St Thomas Catholic Academies Trust. It sets and applies its own over-subscription criteria which is then administered within the Secondary Co-ordinated Scheme agreed by Slough Local Authority.

Applying to St Joseph’s

The Common Application Form (CAF) must be completed and returned to the LEA or submitted on line by 31^st October 2024.

We have our own Supplementary Application Form which must be completed in addition to the CAF and returned to St Joseph’s by 31^st December 2024. No application can be considered without a completed Application Form. Applications received after this date will be treated as late applications.

The Certificate of Catholic Practice form OR the Priest’s / Religious Leader’s Reference form should also be completed if appropriate, given to your priest or minister for signing and they should then return the form to St Joseph’s by 31^st December 2024.

If your child has been baptised or dedicated, the Academy Trust insist that a copy of the child’s valid Baptism or Dedication Certificate is given in with the application form.

Sixth Form Application

Sixth Form Applications are made online via the eForms on the Apply page on the Sixth Form area of our school website. You can find this: here.

Notification of Places

At the beginning of March 2025 your local authority will advise you of the school that your child has been allocated. If you have been allocated a place at St Joseph’s we will write to you and ask for confirmation that you wish to accept the place. You will only receive a letter directly from St Joseph’s if you have been offered a place.

In-Year Admissions

An application can be made for a place for a child at any time outside the admission round and the child will be admitted where there are available places. 

An application should be made to the school by completing the application form below and returning it to:

Mrs E Wilson, the Admissions Secretary 

St Joseph’s Catholic High School, Shaggy Calf Lane, Slough, SL2 5HW  

e.wilson@st-josephs.slough.sch.uk

Where there are places available but more applications than places, the published oversubscription criteria, as set out in the admission criteria below will be applied. Parents are advised to read the admission criteria carefully before making their application.  If there are no places available, the child will be added to the waiting list.  Please see the admission criteria for more details.

You will be advised of the outcome of your application in writing as soon as possible.  Applicants must be informed of the outcome of their application within 15 school days of receipt, but the aim is to notify applicants of the outcome of their application within 10 school days of receipt.

You have the right to appeal to an independent appeal panel if your application is unsuccessful. 

If you have any questions in relation to in-year admissions please contact the Admissions Secretary at St Joseph’s Catholic High School.  You may also wish to discuss in-year applications with your local authority. 

School Admissions 2025/26

Appeals

If you wish to appeal against any decision of the Trust related to admissions then please contact the school to obtain an Admission Appeal Form. Relevant forms and further guidance can also be found attached below. This should be completed and returned to the address shown on the form.

Please note the following dates:

SLOUGH BOROUGH COUNCIL ADMISSIONS

If you are a Slough resident, the Admissions Department at Slough Borough Council will be able to assist you with finding a school place.  They can be contacted by the follow means:

The Admissions Team, Slough Borough Council, Observatory House, 25 Windsor Road, Slough, SL1 2EL

Telephone: 01753 875728 (Telephone opening hours: 10am - 4.30pm, Monday to Friday)

Email:            admissionshelpline@slough.gov.uk

Website:        www.slough.gov.uk/admissions