Admissions Consultation (2026 Entry)

The Brian Clarke CE Academy – Consultation on Proposed Changes to Admissions Arrangements for Year 7 – Entry 2026
The Trustees of the Cranmer Education Trust propose to change the admissions arrangements for entry into Year 7 of The Brian Clarke CE Academy, to take effect from September 2026.

If you would like to make representation, please do so in writing (either by email or letter) to the following address shown below.

The Chair of the Admissions Committee
The Cranmer Education Trust
Egerton Street
Oldham.
OL1 3SQ
E-mail:  [email protected]

Comments are only invited on the change proposed within this document.  Comments relating to any other aspect of the school’s admission arrangements will not be considered.

Anonymous comments/representations will not be accepted.

Consultation Process

The consultation process will commence on 7th November 2024 and will close at 5pm on 19th December 2024.

A full copy of the proposed Admissions Policy and Supplementary Information Form can be found on the school website:  

Following the consultation process, the Admissions Committee of the Cranmer Education Trust will meet week beginning 13^th January 2025 to review all comments/representations and will report to the Trust Board.

The outcome of the consultation will be published on the school’s website by 15^th March 2025 and the final Admissions Policy and Supplementary Information Form will be confirmed with the Local Authority by the same date.

The Vision and Values of The Brian Clarke CE Academy

Our school opened in 2022. It is a free school/academy, run by The Cranmer Education Trust, which went through a lengthy and detailed process of application to the Department for Education and in discussion with the Local Authority and people in the borough and beyond, to clarify what the vision and values for the school would be.

From the outset, we were clear that the school would be a fully inclusive, co-educational Church of England school that served the young people of all faiths and denominations and those of none. The school would bring together young people from different backgrounds to build a community enriched by diversity, a community that is multi-cultural, multi-faith and multi-talented and is a microcosm of the borough as a whole.

The admissions policy for the school was designed to reflect this vision and ambition for community cohesion. 50% of the places are allocated on a faith basis which includes Christians of all denominations (25% places) and members of the five other major world faiths: Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism and Sikhism (25% places).

The remaining 50% of the places are allocated across 3 geographical zones within 1, 2 and 3 miles’ radius of the school, on a formula agreed with the Local Authority. All parties involved in the discussions agreed that the policy was fair and justified to achieve the diverse community of the school that the Trust, the Council and the Diocese fully supported and the Department for Education approved.

The Brian Clarke CE Academy is also a microcosm of the Cranmer Education Trust whose wider vision is to build a family and community of schools across Oldham and Rochdale which is diverse, vibrant, embraces all communities and all faiths, denominations and none in mutual respect, and which builds community cohesion.  It is a vision that has inspired others to join our Trust, including CE and community schools, with The Radclyffe School and Saddleworth School both about to join the family in Spring 2025.

What aspect of the Admissions Policy for The Brian Clarke CE Academy does the Trust wish to change and why?

The aspect of the Admissions Policy that the Trust wishes to change is the preference given to children who already have siblings in the school.

The Brian Clarke CE Academy has become a school of choice. Many families are drawn by the school’s vision and its commitment to diversity, inclusion and cohesion. The school census shows us that the pupil cohort covers 40 different home languages. There were over 1,100 applications for 240 places for September 2024.

By September 2024, 65% of all the 120 geographical places had been taken up by children who already had siblings in school, leaving only 35% available for new families. The impact was both to disadvantage new families (which led to a 77% increase in appeals) and to make it near impossible for the school to uphold its commitment to admitting children from the 3 geographical zones in line with the formula agreed with the LA.

The Trustees of the Cranmer Education Trust have therefore resolved to remove the sibling criteria from The Brian Clarke CE Academy admissions policy from September 2026.  Following this, all geographical places will be allocated by random allocation once children with EHCPs naming the school and children who are in the care of the LA have been allocated a place. 

By removing the sibling link the Trustees, as the Admissions Authority for the school, are fulfilling both their legal duty to ensure admissions arrangements are fair, and their commitment to how the shared vision for the new school for Oldham would be achieved.