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.

1. Catholic looked after and previously looked after children. 
2. Catholic children who are resident in the parish(es) of Holy Rood Church, Swindon, St. Peters Church, Swindon, St. Joseph’s Church, Wroughton and Sacred Heart Church, Royal Wootton Bassett. 
3. Other Catholic children. 
4. Other looked after and previously looked after children. 
5. Catechumens 
6. Children who are a member of an Eastern Christian Church. 
7. Children of another Christian denomination whose membership is evidenced by a minister of religion. 
8. Children of another faith whose membership is evidenced by a religious leader. 
9. Any other children.

Tie Break

Where children have an identical ranking, priority will be determined by random allocation (see below).

Random Allocation

Each child will be allocated a number. These numbers are shared with a person independent of the school who will supervise the process. Governors will then use a random number generator to rank the numbers.

For children of a multiple birth, the order created by the random number generator will be overridden to place all the children from the multiple birth together at the place where the highest child (from the multiple birth) is ranked. The random number generator will then be used to rank the children from multiple births. 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.

In Year Admissions

Please click on the links below to see our Admissions policy for 2026-2027 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 oversubscribed, any places that become available will be offered in accordance with the order of priority listed in 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 2022 - 31 August 2023 by 15th January 2027.

Please find below a link to the Admissions page on the Swindon Borough Council website.

 

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