Warwickshire County Council’s Cabinet has approved updated school admission arrangements for the academic year 2027/2028.
School admission arrangements, and the related coordinated scheme processes, set out how children are offered places at schools, including what happens when there are more applications than places available, and how school place applications are processed and coordinated across Warwickshire.
These arrangements apply to all community and voluntary controlled schools in the county, for which Warwickshire County Council acts as the admissions authority. Other schools, including academies and voluntary aided schools, set their own arrangements but work within the countywide admissions system.
Following a public consultation that ran from November 2025 to January 2026, the updated admission arrangements include a number of changes for the 2027/2028 academic year. Children of staff will now be included in the oversubscription criteria for all community and voluntary controlled schools, meaning they may be given priority where a school receives more applications than it has places available.
The oversubscription criteria for junior schools will also be brought into line with those used for infant and primary schools. This clarifies that eligibility for pupil premium or service premium must apply at the time an application is made.
Priority areas, sometimes known as catchment areas, will be updated for Lighthorne Heath Primary School, Shottery St Andrew’s Primary School and Bishopton Primary School to reflect local changes in housing and demand for school places.
Cabinet also agreed to reduce the published admission number at Thomas Jolyffe Primary School from 60 to 30, and at Water Orton Primary School from 45 to 30. These changes are based on pupil number forecasts and are intended to support the long-term stability and financial planning of the schools.
Changes have also been made to how school place applications are managed across Warwickshire. Evidence of future house moves or relocation will no longer be accepted until a house move has taken place and the child is resident at the new address. For in-year applications (a move during the school year), the need for parents or carers to re-register their interest in remaining on a waiting list will be removed, though they must reapply the following academic year if a place is still required.
Cllr Wayne Briggs, Portfolio Holder for Education, commented: “These arrangements ensure we continue to deliver a high-quality admissions service for families in Warwickshire, whilst making sensible adjustments that improve efficiency and provide clearer, smoother processes for parents applying for school places.”
The proposed changes were consulted on between November 2025 and January 2026, with feedback considered as part of the decision-making process.
The updated admission arrangements will apply to the 2027-2028 academic year and will be published on the Council’s website: Schools and Education in Warwickshire
A copy of the papers for this item can be found here: Determination of Admission Arrangements, Coordinated Scheme and Coordinated In-Year Process for School Admissions for the 2027/28 Academic Year