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Admissions Policy

BOA DIGITAL TECHNOLOGIES ACADEMY ADMISSION ARRANGEMENTS FOR 2024

Introductory statement
BOA Digital is a  11-18 academy specialising in digital technologies. It will be the sister academy to BOA and form part of the newly established 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. The STEAMhouse campus is a new innovative space and incubation hub for the creative industries

 

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. 

Details on how to apply can be found here. 

 

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.

The closing date for applications is 31st October 2023
Offers will be made on 1st  March. 

The application process and timescale for admission to the sixth form will be the same as for the rest of the academy. Both internal and external students wishing to enter the sixth form will be expected to have met the same minimum academic entry requirements for the sixth form.

 

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 which are 18th and 26th November 2023. All applicants will be invited to the first 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

We will apply our oversubscription criteria to determine who is admitted to each band. Where students have not taken the banding test they will only be considered for admission after those who have taken the test.

 

Oversubscription criteria
‘The criteria in this section apply to entry at all phases of the academy. [Any students wishing to enter the sixth-form will also be required to have met the academic entry criteria for the sixth-form set out below]. 
When the school is oversubscribed, after the admission of pupils with an Education, Health and Care plan or a Statement of Special Educational Needs naming the school, priority for admission will be given to those children who meet the criteria set out below, in priority order:

  • Looked after children and children who were previously looked after but immediately after being looked after became subject to adoption, a child arrangements order, or special guardianship order. Including those children 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. 
  • Such students will be given top priority in each band before the oversubscription criteria is applied;

  • Students for whom it is essential that they be admitted to the Academy because of significant medical or social needs. All applications under this criterion must be supported with relevant written evidence from a doctor or social worker, declared in writing at the time of the application and where such submissions offer specific evidence that necessitates attendance at this particular Academy. Any evidence offered without such focus is deemed inadmissible although the application will then be considered under other criteria. In particular, 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

  • Children of members of staff who have been recruited to fill a vacancy where there is a demonstrable skill shortage.

  • The remaining places in each band will be allocated by random allocation overseen by someone independent of the academy. Priority will be given to Looked after children, previously looked after children and internationally adopted previously looked after children.

​​

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

Arrangement for admission to the sixth-form
The Sixth Form has capacity for 300 pupils with 150 pupils in Year 12.

The Academy will publish specific criteria in relation to minimum entrance requirements for the sixth form based upon GCSE grades.

There will also be entry criteria for each of the courses available based upon GCSE grades. If children meet the academic entry criteria for the sixth form, but fail to meet specific course requirements, they will be offered alternative courses, if available. Children already on roll of the Academy will be given priority for courses for which they have met the academic requirements. 

The detailed information on academic criteria will be contained in the Post-16 prospectus published on an annual basis. 

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

Eligible Education Health Care Plan pupils whose statement names the Academy Sixth form and Children in Local Authority Care and previously Looked After Children will have priority for admission but, for other children, if a tiebreak is necessary to determine who is admitted the Oversubscription criteria will be applied.
 

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 2023.
 

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.

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 of 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 parents 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.

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 Admissions Officer 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

 

Notes
Medical and Social Need 
‘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.