Primary Admissions


 

Find out how to apply for a place for Year 1 to Year 6 for September 2022 or later in the year.

In general, our primary classes tend to be full, so places can be offered only when a child leaves the school. More places are available at the end of the school year, but applications can be submitted at any time. When a place becomes available, we offer it as soon as possible to the applicant with the highest ranking according to our admissions policy.

Please fill in an application form on the website of the county council to add your child’s name to the continued interest list* for that school year.

*If you apply for the school and are initially unsuccessful, you can request that the county council holds your details on a continued interest list and we would then inform you if a place becomes available for your child. Please remember to apply for each subsequent school year around the beginning of June of each year.

Appeals

More information: www.oxfordshire.gov.uk/schoolappeals

If your school place application is not successful, you will be able to appeal. You can do this by emailing schoolappeals@oxfordshire.gov.uk. If you would like to appeal by post, please write to:

Richard Doney
Education Appeals Law and Governance
Oxfordshire County Council
County Hall
New Road
Oxford
OX1 1ND

Please read admissions_appeals_timeline for more information.

The latest timeline will be published here: https://www.oxfordshire.gov.uk/residents/schools/apply-school-place/school-appeals

Nodal Points

The nodal points referred to in over-subscription criterion D (or E in the new proposed admissions policy) are marked approximately on the map below.

Frequently Asked Questions

My child does not speak French/German/Spanish, can they still join?
The school is often asked whether a child that does not speak French/German/Spanish can still join in a later year. In terms of admissions the answer is a straightforward “yes” and they will be very welcome. We would encourage you to think carefully about how you will support your child, as it will be quite a challenge for them to start in later years. Half the week is taught in the second language, and this can be quite daunting for them the first couple of months. That said, a few children have now managed this challenge and are happy and settled in the school.
We live outside of Oxfordshire, can we obtain a place?
There are waiting lists for each year in primary and it is unlikely that  anyone living outside of Oxfordshire will be closest to one of our nodal points.  However, you can apply and may be successful.  If you plan to move closer to the school, you can can apply and change your address to a local one as soon as you have a proof of address. Please send this proof the county council and not to the school.

My child is bilingual French already. Do they have priority?
No, language or culture is not one of our admissions criteria. As a state-funded school, all applications have equal status.
I do not understand how the nodal points work. Can you give an example please?
When we receive the list with applicants from the county council, they provide for each applicant their distance from each nodal point:

If it is an in-year application, and we have 1 place, we will calculate which point needs to be filled. We will deduct the siblings and then calculate the balance in the class. The point that is out of balance will need the new pupil. If we have to fill nodal point 2, we will look who lives closest to nodal point 2, in this case John Smith. If we have to fill nodal point 3, the place will go to Lucie Brown. Reese White with an address abroad will never be the closest unless there are no people on the waiting list or if the people before him refuse the place, which does happen occasionally.

My child is German, surely you will only offer a place for the German class in year 4?
As a state school we do not make any differentiation based on background or culture, or even language knowledge in primary. If a place comes up in the French class, and your child has priority, we will offer the place to your child. If you accept it, we expect the parents and child to be fully behind the decision and challenge in order to tackle this language, and we will provide in-school support to help your child succeed.

If you do not wish up take the place up, you can turn it down, while remaining on the waiting list.

If we have a place in both classes, we will ask the applicant with the highest priority (based on the admissions ranking) for their preference. We will offer the other place to the lower ranking successful applicant. This means it can happen, that a child that speaks English only, but has a higher admissions ranking will take up the place in the German class, while we offer a child that only speaks German, with the lower ranking, a place in the French class. It is always up to the parents to accept or decline the place of course.

Can I accept the place, but remain on the waiting list for another class?
The simple answer is – no-. We do not have a waiting list for the other class. When a child enters a class, but does not speak the language, the school invests a lot in helping the child get to the right level. It will only really work, if the child and family are behind the language and fully supportive. The child will be less motivated, if it is seen as a temporary waiting stage until a place comes up in the other class. It will also be disruptive for the other pupils in both classes.

The governors have sometimes allowed a change in reception and year 1 when the person that wished to move had a clear priority over anyone else on the continued interest list.

 

Enquiries: The Europa School UK is its own admissions authority. To confirm whether your child is on our continued interest list or to discuss the prospects of obtaining a place, please contact the school and not Oxfordshire County Council.