Public Consultation: Proposed Admission Arrangements 2028/29

We invite your feedback on proposed changes to the admission arrangements for The Cottesloe School for the 2028/29 academic year. This public consultation follows the Office of the Schools Adjudicator's (OSA) recent determination (Case Reference: ADA4650).

Buckinghamshire Council have been working closely with The Cottesloe School and a number of neighbouring secondary schools in recent months to ensure that school places are allocated fairly and in line with the Schools Admissions Code.

The Cottesloe School serves an extensive rural catchment area spanning approximately 16 miles from Dagnall and Edlesborough in the far south-east to Winslow and Newton Longville in the west. In recent years, local secondary-aged populations have grown significantly, putting considerable demand on school places across the region.

To support local families, the School and Governing Body have worked in close collaboration with Buckinghamshire Council to accommodate rising numbers. This included agreeing to exceed our Published Admission Number (PAN) in September 2024 and admitting an additional bulge class of 30 pupils in September 2025. However, despite recent expansion work at the school, the physical capacity constraints mean the school cannot continue to absorb additional students.

Following a case referred by Buckinghamshire Council, the Schools Adjudicator issued a determination on 23rd July 2026. While the Adjudicator acknowledged that our existing oversubscription criteria were standard and reasonable in design, she concluded that their practical application had, through no fault of the school, become unfair to children living in the far eastern and south-eastern parts of our catchment area.

Applicants in these eastern areas who are unsuccessful in gaining a place at Cottesloe have no other local Buckinghamshire secondary school options within a reasonable distance. Furthermore, cross-border places at Tring School in Hertfordshire, which historically accommodated some pupils from this area, have become increasingly unavailable due to high demand within Tring's own catchment area. In contrast, families living in western areas like Winslow and Newton Longville have access to alternative non-selective secondary schools. Consequently, the Adjudicator directed that our admission arrangements must be revised to ensure a fairer distribution of places.

In response to the Adjudicator's binding determination and following extensive work with Buckinghamshire Council, the Governing Body proposes to amend the school's catchment area structure and admissions policy starting in September 2028.

The proposed changes focus on the structure of our catchment area.

Catchment Structuring

Creating catchment priority areas A and B will better protect families who reside in areas where Cottesloe is the sole accessible non-selective school within a reasonable distance. Please refer to the maps provided.

Please note that as determined by the Adjudicator, the existing admissions criteria will remain unchanged for the 2027/28 intake, with revised policy arrangements taking full legal effect for admissions in the 2028/29 school year.

We invite parents, residents, feeder primary schools, and neighbouring admission authorities to review the full draft policy available on the school website and submit any comments or feedback during the public consultation window.

Responses can be submitted via email  to consultation@cottesloe.bucks.sch.uk

The consultation will run for 6 weeks from Friday 23rd October until 4th December 2026.

We value your input as we work to ensure a transparent, clear, and fair admissions system for all communities served by The Cottesloe School.

Yours sincerely,

Mr S Jones

Headteacher

The Cottesloe School