Year 7

QES is a values led school with high expectations. Our prospectus highlights our Core Values which are central to our community. All students are admitted to QES without reference to ability or aptitude.

Applications for Year 7 Places

Applications for Year 7 places should be made via your Local Authority by 31 October using the online Common Application Form. Further information on the application process is available via the Local Authority School Admissions website.

QES has been oversubscribed in recent years, and where applications for admission exceed the number of places available, criteria will be applied in the following order to decide which children to admit:

1. looked-after children and previously looked-after children;
2. children of staff where a member of staff has been employed at the school for two or more years at the time the application was made or the member of staff is recruited to fill a vacant post for which there is a demonstrable skills shortage;
3. where the child has a brother or sister attending a school in the Lunesdale Learning Trust at the time of admission (Sept 2024) and this includes step siblings, adopted siblings or any other children living permanently at the same address;
4. proximity of the child’s home to the school, with those living nearer being accorded the higher priority (see separate explanatory note).

When there is over-subscription in 1, 2, and 3 above, the distance criterion at 4 will be applied. In the event of a tie-break, random allocation will be used to decide who has highest priority for admission if the distance between two or more children’s homes and the school is the same. This process will be independently verified.

Further explanatory notes:

If the school is oversubscribed, the address of the parent with whom the child normally lives will be used in the allocation process. It is not possible to use an alternative address such as the address of a child’s grandparents or childminder.

In some cases, where shared parental living arrangements are in place, a child’s address may be difficult to determine. In these circumstances, the address used for child benefit purposes, i.e., the address of the parent claiming the child benefit will be used.

Residency at a particular address is a key factor in allocating places at oversubscribed schools. If the school offers a school place and then discovers that the offer was made on the basis of fraudulent or misleading information (for example  a false claim to be living at an address), the school may withdraw the place.

Distance is measured using a straight line measurement from the door of the School’s Main Reception to the centre of the pupil’s home address using the same GIS system as the Local Authority.  For reference, for the last two years successful applicants have lived within approximately 10 miles of school. 

An exception will be made for a child whose statement of special educational needs (SEND) or Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) names the school, provided the school can meet the child’s needs and that meeting the need is compatible with the education of others.

Further information on the oversubscription criteria and the right to appeal can be found in the Admissions Policy.

For more information, please email admissions@qes.org.uk