Preamble to TheTiffin Girls School Admissions Consultation 2016

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1 Introduction This document proposes changes to the admissions arrangements for The Tiffin Girls School ( the School ), following a resolution passed by Governors of the School, and invites your views on those proposals. The main changes proposed in the Draft Admissions Arrangements for 2016 are that: The School should increase its Planned Admission Number (PAN) to 180 for entry into Year 7 in September 2016 (paragraph 2.3) The over-subscription criteria for the School should allocate up to 60 places on the basis of proximity to the School based on an Inner Area (paragraph 5.3) and/or disadvantage factors, while maintaining the academically selective nature of the School (paragraph 5.1.2). Please see a diagrammatic representation of this on page 2 of this document. The rationale behind the proposed changes is twofold. The School wants to 1. Increase the availability of places at the School and 2. Improve the chances of admission to the School for more girls who would benefit from an academically selective education and who live in the area surrounding the School and/or are from a disadvantaged background. This consultation is required under paragraph 1.44 of the School Admissions Code The 8 week consultation period will run from Tuesday 16 December 2014 to Tuesday 10 February The School consulted in April to June 2014 on the principles of these changes and has already published a summary of the responses to that consultation. In response to the feedback from that consultation, the proposal now extends the priority for proximity/disadvantage to 60 places. The School is also proposing some additional changes to its admissions policy for admission into Year 7: A change to Stage One Test arrangements the Stage One Test will be a sifting test only. (Paragraphs and 3.2.8) Only the Stage Two Test Mark will be used for the basis of allocating a place at the School (Paragraphs and 3.3.4) The proposal is therefore that the first stage of testing will comprise English and mathematics multiple choice questions. There will therefore no longer be any element of Verbal/Non-Verbal Reasoning in the School s testing process. This is to enable the testing process to better reflect what applicants have been taught in the core subjects of English and mathematics as part of their primary education. There will be written exam papers in mathematics, reading and writing for those invited to the second stage of testing (as has been the case to date). The English and mathematics questions for both elements of the testing process will be designed to reflect the primary school curriculum and be of a standard that will be appropriate to determine admission to the School. Changes are also proposed to the Sixth Form entry section to more closely reflect the standard of entry to the Sixth Form and to ensure that students wanting to study all science subjects have to achieve the same GCSE standards whichever combination of science subjects they are choosing. The Tiffin Girls School 2016 Admissions Consultation Preamble 1

2 A visual representation of the proposed over-subscription criteria: Disadvantage Factor: This would be aligned to the wording of the government funded Pupil Premium allocation. (Currently this is allocated to pupils who are on Free School Meals or who have been in receipt of Free School Meals in the past six years and Service children). Inner Area: The Inner Area is the proposed area from which the new over-subscription criteria would prioritise some/all of the 60 additional places. Designated Area: The Designated Area is the wider geographical catchment in place since September 2014 and currently included in the School s over-subscription criteria. Proposal: To give priority on over-subscription as follows: 1. Up to 60 places allocated to applicants who achieve a score equal to, or higher than, the mark of the 250 th ranked applicant in the Tiffin Test in priority order as follows: a. Disadvantage factor plus residence within Inner Area in rank order, then b. Residence within Inner Area in rank order, then c. Disadvantage factor within the Designated Area in rank order 2. Remaining places up to PAN 180 from Designated Area in rank order Proposal 1a 1b Up to 60 places 1c 2 Rest up to PAN 180 The Tiffin Girls School 2016 Admissions Consultation Preamble 2

3 Proposal: Proximity and Inner Area The intention of the Inner Area is to provide a catchment area from which up to 60 places would be allocated first under the proposed admissions arrangements based on a combination of proximity to the School and/or disadvantage factors. There are no statutory provisions relating to catchment areas, but admission authorities are required to comply with the School Admissions Code. The Code permits catchment areas and states that they must be designated so that they are reasonable and clearly defined. The proposed boundary of the Inner Area is based on the following principles to ensure it meets the requirements of reasonableness and clarity: Clear and easily definable uses electoral ward boundaries Reasonable based on accessibility to the School and reflects the diversity of the socio-economic composition of local area Reasonable ensures that areas of greatest child poverty nearest to the School are included. The Inner Area is proposed having analysed the socio-economic profile of the area within which the School is situated. The aim of the boundary as drawn is to ensure inclusion in the Inner Area of the areas of highest child poverty which are nearest the School. It is proposed that the Inner Area would comprise the following electoral wards: Electoral Ward Berrylands Beverley Canbury Coombe Hill Coombe Vale Grove Norbiton St Mark's Tudor Ham, Petersham and Richmond Riverside Alpha Road Estate 43.3% This map gives the percentage of children living in poverty within particular wards. The percentage of children living in poverty in Kingston overall is 13.8% (national 20.1%) however within some areas the % is much higher. The Tiffin Girls School 2016 Admissions Consultation Preamble 3

4 Frequently Asked Questions Q: Will the School be able to manage further expansion? It has only just moved to five form entry. A: The School has already made changes to manage the increase, with greater emphasis on pastoral care with two Assistant Headteachers on the senior leadership team now dedicated to pastoral provision. The number of teachers increases each year to ensure that the ratio of pupils to teachers stays the same. In fact expanding the School to six form entry makes some things easier, like designing the timetable to have even numbers of groups across a year group. An increase in numbers also means that the funding the School receives increases, so there is proportionally more income available to spend on the students education. Selective schools have been particuarly badly affected by changes to the ways schools are funded and this could have a damaging effect on what the School can afford to offer if the School does not expand. Also, the increase will happen over five years and not start until 2016, so the School has two and a half years to prepare for the first year of six form entry. Q: Will the proposed change affect the academic standard of girls gaining admission to the School? A: The ability of all girls who are admitted to the School under these arrangements will remain of a high academic standard. All students gaining a place would have to show they are suitable for an academically selective education by achieving a mark equal to or higher than the mark of the 250 th ranked applicant in the Tiffin Test. Some girls will gain a place at the School who might not have done previously (under rank order alone) however the difference in their academic ability and of those with a higher score will be marginal, given the numbers of applicants whose marks cluster on each mark around the cut-off score. The School is also exceptionally good at ensuring that all its students do the very best academically that they can. All applicants who gain a place at the School under the new arrangements are likely to have high academic potential that will enable them to obtain the highest grades available at GCSE and A Level. Q: Does this expansion mean that there might be an over-supply of School places in the area? A: RBK, as with most London boroughs, is experiencing admission pressures brought about by rising population increases, housing developments and out of borough demand. Projections in the RBK population (0 19 year olds) show that there is going to be an increasing demand for school places because of a 5.3% increase in the number of 0 19 year olds between 2011 and 2016 and a further 3.1% increase between 2016 and This will be particularly acute when the current demand for places in primary schools reaches secondary school age just when these proposals are designed to take effect. Other secondary schools are also considering expanding to meet this need. The change proposed by the School will therefore help to meet this demand and increase the choice for parents in the area as it increases the likelihood of their academically able daughters getting a place at the School. This is because the School is both making more places available overall and prioritising those places for girls who live locally and/or are from disadvantaged backgrounds. It also ensures that there are the same number of selective places available for girls as for boys within the area, as the Tiffin School will be expanding to six form entry for Year 7 in Q: How will the School manage the physical aspect of moving to six form entry? A: The School has analysed how it currently uses its available space and has identified how better utilisation would result in increased capacity within its existing premises. The School has a number of options available that will ensure that it has the capacity to meet the proposed expansion during the period Q: Will the increase in PAN in Year 7 have an effect on Sixth Form admissions? A: The School could accommodate the extra numbers within existing Sixth Form capacity. There are no plans to increase the size of the Sixth Form as a result of the increase in PAN in Year 7. The Tiffin Girls School 2016 Admissions Consultation Preamble 4

5 Q: Why has the School prioritised 60 places for proximity/disadvantage? A: The School is prioritising the extra 60 places that will have been created by increasing the PAN during for able girls who live locally and/or come from a disadvantaged background. This is a change of approach for the School that many people have been asking for for a very long time and it is the first time that these factors have been prioritised in the School s over-subscription criteria. Q: How will the School create a Pool of applicants from which priority is given? A: When the Tiffin Test results are available the School will rank all the applicants marks. We will then see what mark the 250 th ranked applicant achieved and use that mark as the cut-off for the Pool. Any applicant who achieves that mark or above will be in the Pool and could therefore be eligible for one of the 60 prioritised places under the over-subscription criteria. Q: Why have you chosen to use the mark of the 250 th ranked applicant as the cut-off mark for the Pool? A: We consider that this mark will ensure both that the academic ability of any applicant who is offered a place under these arrangements will be of the appropriate standard to benefit from the selective education offered by the School and will give greater opportunity for some applicants to gain a place at the School who otherwise would not be offered a place. Q: What if there are more than 60 applicants who are in the Pool and who meet the over-subscription criteria of proximity and/or disadvantage? A: The first 60 places will be allocated by rank order within each of the sub-categories being proposed in the oversubscription criteria (see page 4). Once these 60 places are allocated to applicants from the Pool then all remaining applicants who sat the Tiffin Test will be placed in rank order, including those still in the Pool, and a further 120 places will be offered in rank order. Q: What is the Tiffin Test? Is it the same as the test now? A: The structure will be the same but the type of test will change. The Tiffin Test will continue to be a two stage process, as now. However the First Stage Test will be a multiple choice test which will test English and mathematics (not Verbal and Non-Verbal Reasoning) and the Second Stage Test will test mathematics, reading and writing (very similar to our current Stage Two Test). Only the marks from the Second Stage Test will count towards the final mark for allocation of places. The First Stage Test will be a sifting test only to decide who is invited to the Second Stage Test. Q: Will there still be Verbal and Non-Verbal Reasoning in the tests? A: No. This type of testing will be removed from the process in order to reflect what is taught in primary school. Q: Why are particular electoral wards included in the Inner Area? A: They are included either because they are near to the School or because they are slightly further away but they include areas of higher incidence of child poverty. Q: Why are you including some electoral wards because they have higher incidence of child poverty? A: Because the School wants to encourage applications from girls of appropriate academic ability from disadvantaged backgrounds. The School considers it is more likely that able girls who are from disadvantaged backgrounds will apply for a place because where they live is prioritised in the proposed over-subscription criteria. Q:What about girls who live locally who are not disadvantaged? A: The School also wants to encourage able girls who live locally to apply so has included residence in the Inner Area as a priority for over-subscription as well. The Tiffin Girls School 2016 Admissions Consultation Preamble 5

6 Q: Does Pupil Premium funding impact on the decision to introduce a disadvantage factor? A: No. The amount of additional Pupil Premium funding that could be allocated to the School as a result of the proposed changes would be very welcome but would not in itself make a significant difference to the overall funding situation for the School. In any event all schools are highly accountable for the way they spend Pupil Premium funding and it has to be directed to benefit the education of the students to whom it is attached. Q: There seems to have been a lot of changes recently to the admissions policy at The Tiffin Girls School. Why is this? A: A number of different reasons. The School wants as many girls as possible to benefit from the wonderful education the School offers and the opportunities it gives to able young women. This is why we want to expand the number of places available. The School is very keen to ensure that as many able girls as possible feel encouraged to apply for a place at the School. That is why the selection test process has already been changed to reflect what is taught in primary school by including mathematics, reading and writing and doesn t rely solely on reasoning tests. The School also wants to ensure that girls coming to the School don t have excessive distances to travel and so that is why it has already introduced an outer Designated Area. Finally, the School wants to encourage all able girls to apply for and hopefully to gain a place at the School, particularly those who might not have considered applying previously because they thought they might not get a place, or might not have thought that The Tiffin Girls School was the right School for them. Q: Does the School have any further admissions changes in mind? A: The School undertakes an annual review of its admissions policy. No other changes are currently planned. Q: How can I respond to this consultation A: We welcome your views on these proposals. If you would like to express a view on these proposals, please either admissions@tiffingirls.rbksch.org with the subect heading Admissions Consultation 2016 or write to: Admissions Consultation 2016 c/o Admissions Office The Tiffin Girls School Richmond Road Kingston upon Thames Surrey KT2 5PL The closing date for the consultation is 6.00pm on Tuesday 10 February The Tiffin Girls School 2016 Admissions Consultation Preamble 6