Admissions

Holy Rood Catholic Primary Academy serves the catchment area parishes of Holy Rood Swindon, St Peter's West Swindon, St Joseph's Wroughton and Sacred Heart Royal Wootton Bassett.

Pupils are normally admitted in the September of the school year after their fourth birthday.  Parents have the right to defer their child's admission to school to the start of any subsequent term which occurs after the child has passed his or her fifth birthday.

It is expected that the families of all applicants who are not Roman Catholics, or committed members of another Christian denomination, will understand the benefits of a Christian education and will support the Catholic Ethos of the school.

Oversubscription Criteria

Where there are more applications for places than the number of places available, places will be offered according to the following order of priority.

Within each of the categories listed below, priority will be given to children who will have a brother or sister at the school at the time of enrolment. (see note 6).

1. Catholic looked after and previously looked after children. (see notes 2 & 3)

2. Catholic children who are resident in the school’s designated parishes of Holy Rood Church, Swindon, St. Peter's Church, Swindon, St. Joseph's Church, Wroughton and Sacred Heart Church, Royal Wootton Bassett. (see notes 3 & 9)

3. Other Catholic children. (see note 3)

4. Other looked after and previously looked after children. (see note 2)

5. Children who are a Catechumen (see note 4)

6. Any other children.

Tie Break

Where children have identical ranking, priority within each category will then be determined by random allocation (see below).

Random Allocation

Random Allocation is the drawing of lots, supervised by a person independent of the school. Each child will be allocated a number. All the numbers will be placed into a hat or other suitable container and will be drawn out and ranked in the order that they were drawn.

For children of a multiple birth, only the allocated number of one of the children will be entered in the draw. Where this number is drawn, the other child or children will be deemed to have also been drawn. Lots will then also be drawn for these children to decide their individual ranking. This process will also be applied to brothers or sisters who are not from a multiple birth but are applying for a place in the same year group.

Supporting Evidence

For categories 1, 2, 3 and 5 supporting evidence must be provided. If you do not provide the supporting documentation e.g. a certificate of baptism, or of reception into the Church, or of reception into the order of catechumens, (as detailed in notes 3 and 4 below), your child can not be placed within any of those categories and this may affect your child’s chance of being offered a place. To be considered in the first round of allocations, it should be submitted to the school (or Local Authority if they will accept it) by 15 January 2024.

*NB whilst some Local Authorities may accept supporting documentation, others do not. It is therefore recommended you send it to the school.

In Year Admissions

Please click on the links below to see our Admissions policy for 2023-2024 and our In-Year Admission form. 

If you wish to apply for a place at our school please complete our In-Year Admission form and submit this to the school office. We will also require a copy of the following supporting documents:  

Child's Birth Certificate

Child's Baptism Certificate (if applicable)

Proof of address 

In the event that the school is over subscribed any places that become available will be offered in accordance with the order of priority listed on our Admission Policy

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Attention All Parents. Please apply for your child's place at primary school if your child was born between 1 September 2019 - 31 August 2020 by 15th January 2024.

Appeals Procedure

Parents/carers have the right to appeal against the refusal by the Governors to admit their child and should put their appeal in writing to the Clerk to Governors at the school by completing the appeal form. Appeals will be arranged by the Local Authority. 

Appeals for applications made under the 'normal admissions round' for your child's school age, must be heard within 40 school days of the deadline for lodging an appeal.

Under the School Admissions (Admission Arrangements and Co-ordination of Admission Arrangements) (England)  Regulations  2012  an application is  made  in the  ‘normal  admissions  round’  if  it  is  not:

1) a ‘late application’ (an application is a ‘late’ application if it is for the admission of a child to a relevant age group; it is submitted before the first day of the school term of the admission year; and a determination relating to the application is not made by an authority on or before the offer date. The ‘relevant age group’ is the age group at which pupils are or will normally be admitted to the school e.g. reception or year 7, Section 142 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998)

Late applications, appeals should be heard within 40 school days from the deadline for lodging appeals where possible, or within 30 school days of the appeal being lodged.

2) an ‘in-year application’ (an application is an ‘in-year’ application if it is for the admission of a child to a relevant age group and it is submitted on or after the first day of the first school term of the admission year, or it is for the admission of a child to an age group other than a relevant age group).  

For applications for in-year admissions, appeals must be heard within 30 school days of the appeal being lodged.

Please refer to Swindon Borough council website on the link below for more details:

Appeals Process