BOA DIGITAL TECHNOLOGIES ACADEMY ADMISSION ARRANGEMENTS FOR 2024

Introductory statement
BOA Digital is a  11-18 academy specialising in digital technologies. It is a sister academy to both BOA Creative, Digital and Performing Arts Academy and BOA Stage and Screen Production Academy and forms part of the BOA group.

BOA Digital opened in September 2022 located in the centre of Birmingham - geographically in the hub of the digital and creative industries situated around the Eastside and the Knowledge Quarter. This new academy will also be close to Aston University, Birmingham City University (BCU) and their new STEAMhouse project.

 

Admission number (s)
The school has an admission number of 120 for entry in year 7.
The school will accordingly admit this number of pupils if there are sufficient applications. Where fewer applicants than the published admission number(s) for the relevant year group are received, the Academy Trust will offer places at the school to all those who have applied. 

The Sixth Form will have capacity for 300 pupils, with 150 pupils in Year 12.

The PAN for external candidates will be 30, but this figure may be exceeded if the number of internal pupils transferring into Year 12 is less than 100.

Details on how to apply can be found here. 

 

Year 7 Application process

The Academy will process applications through the normal local authority process for co-ordinating school offers. This means you will need to complete your LA common application in addition to a separate application for this school. Further details on how to apply can be found here. The closing date for applications is 31st October 2024. Offers will be made on 1st March 2025.

 

Banding
BOA Digital will consider all applications for places. Where fewer than 120 applications are received, the Academy will offer places to all those who have applied.

The Academy will band across the ability range of applicants for admission to the Academy. All applicants will take a standardised non-verbal reasoning test. This is not a pass/fail test. Based on their scores in the test, all applicants will then be placed in one of five ability bands. The highest ability children will be placed in band 1 and the lowest ability in band 5. Children will then be selected from each band. This will ensure that a fully comprehensive intake from the most able to the least able are offered places.

There will be two dates for the banding tests in November 2024. All applicants will be invited to the fair banding test.

The Academy has a PAN (number of pupils admitted) of 120 Year 7 students. If more applicants apply, then the number of student places available in each ability band is as follows:​

	Band 1	Band 2	Band 3	Band 4	Band 5	Total
% Of students in each ability band	20%	20%	20%	20%	20%	100%
Number of places available in each ability band	24	24	24	24	24	120

Applicants who sit the Fair Banding test will be considered for admission first. Any applicants who choose not to sit the Fair Banding test will be ‘non-banded’ and will be ranked in order of priority (after all the banded applicants) with the level of priority then determined with reference to the oversubscription criteria.

Invitations to sit the Fair Banding test will only be sent to those applicants that have applied directly to BOA Digital by 31st October 2024 and selected the Academy as one of their secondary school choices.

 

Oversubscription criteria

The criteria in this section apply to entry at all phases of the academy.

If the school is oversubscribed, after the admission of pupils with an Education, Health and Care Plan where the school is named in the Plan (after the Academy has been consulted, and it has been agreed), priority for admission will be given to those children who meet the criteria set out below, in order.

1) A 'looked after child' or a child who was previously looked after but immediately after being looked after became subject to an adoption, child arrangements, or special guardianship order including those who appear [to the admission authority] to have been in state care outside of England and ceased to be in state care as a result of being adopted. A looked after child is a child who is (a) in the care of a local authority, or (b) being provided with accommodation by a local authority in the exercise of their social services functions (see the definition in Section 22(1) of the Children Act 1989).

2) Current family association (i.e. elder brother or sister attending BOA Digital Technologies Academy at the time of application, who will still be attending when the applicant's child is admitted). In this context, brother or sister means:

• • A natural brother or sister (including adopted siblings).
• • Stepbrother or sister.
• • Foster brother or sister.
• • Those who live permanently at the same address.

3) Children of staff at BOA Group (where the member of staff has been employed for one year or more at the time at which the application for admission to BOA Digital Technologies Academy is made and/or where the member of staff is recruited to fill a vacant post for which there is a demonstrable skill shortage).

4) Children who have exceptional medical or social needs* supported by written evidence from a doctor, social worker, educational welfare officer or other appropriate person declared in writing at the time of the application and where such submissions offer specific evidence that necessitates attendance at this Academy. Any evidence offered without such focus is deemed inadmissible, although the application will then be considered under other criteria. Applicants should state clearly why the Academy is more suitable than any other academy and what the difficulties would be if their child was not offered a place.

*‘Social need’ does not include a parent’s wish that a child attends the academy because of a child’s aptitude or ability or because their friends attend the academy. ‘Medical need’ does not include mild medical conditions.

5) The remaining places in each band will be allocated by random allocation overseen by someone independent of the academy.

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Tie-break 
If, after consideration of the oversubscription criteria is needed, a tie breaker will be via random allocation for each band. 
 

Late applications
All applications received by the Academy after the deadline and those who do not attend the banding assessment will be considered to be late applications.

Late applications will be considered after those received on time. If, following consideration of all applicants the academy is oversubscribed, parents may request that their child is placed on the academy’s waiting list. 

Late applicants and those who do not attend the fair banding assessment will only be considered if the total number of places available are not filled by pupils who took the fair banding assessment.
The national closing date for applications is 31st October 2024.

 

In Year Applications

Any applicants wishing to submit an in-year application to the school (Yr7-11) will need to complete an In Year Transfer Form which can be obtained from Birmingham School Admissions. The completed form and additional documents will need to be returned to the Admissions Team by emailing admissions@boa-digital.co.uk

Places will be offered to suitable applicants in accordance with our oversubscription criteria, provided there is space available in that year group.

 

Admission of children outside their normal age group
Parents may request that their child is admitted outside their normal age group.  To do so, parents should include a request with their application, specifying why admission out of normal year group is being requested.

When such a request is made, the academy trust will make a decision on the basis of the circumstances of the case and in the best interests of the child concerned, taking into account the views of the headteacher and any supporting evidence provided by the parent.

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Waiting lists
Subject to any provisions regarding waiting lists in the LA’s co-ordinated admission scheme, the Academy will operate a waiting list in all the five ability bands.

Where in any year BOA Digital received more applications for places than there are places available, lists will operate until 2nd January. This will be maintained by BOA Digital, and it will be open to any parent to ask for his or her child’s name to be placed on the waiting list, following an unsuccessful application.

The lists are drawn up based on the same procedure as the original allocations; no new information can be considered. Children’s position on the waiting list will be determined solely in accordance with the oversubscription criteria.

Where places become vacant, they will be allocated to children on the waiting list in accordance with the oversubscription criteria. The waiting list will be reordered in accordance with the oversubscription criteria whenever anyone is added to or leaves the waiting list. If a place becomes available within that band, then an offer is made to the child at the top of that reserve list.

If there is no one on the reserve list for that band, then an offer from an adjacent ability band will be made. Successful applicants are offered places by letter. They are asked to accept or reject the offer within one week.

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Appeals
All applicants refused a place have a right of appeal to an independent appeal panel constituted and operated in accordance with the School Admission Appeals Code. Appellants should contact the Head of Admissions at the following address, admissions@boa-digital.co.uk, for information on how to appeal.

Information on the timetable for the appeals process is on our website at www.boa-digital.co.uk

 

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