Bluecoat Beechdale Academy
The Archway Learning Trust (hereafter referred to as the Trust) in liaison with the Department for Education and Nottingham City Local Authority supports Bluecoat Beechdale Academy.
The Trust, which is its own admission authority, has responsibility to ensure that the admission arrangements comply with the School Admissions Code and School Admissions Appeal Code, and are implemented objectively and fairly.
How to apply:
Admission to Bluecoat Beechdale Academy is carried out as part of the home authority co-ordinated admission arrangements.
The deadline for applications for those children applying for a Year 7 place starting September 2027 is 31st October 2026 by completing the Local Authority School Common Application Form (SCAF).
Notification of school allocation will be made by the home Local Authority on National Offer Day. For September 2027 entry, the National Offer Day is 1st March 2027.
For in-year admissions, please contact the Academy on 0115 913 5211 or complete the relevant in-Year application form available on the academy website www.bluecoatbeechdale.co.uk under Prospective Parents > How to Apply
Admission to schools outside the normal year group:
Bluecoat Beechdale Academy will consider requests for admission outside the normal year group and take account of the circumstances of each case. Requests must be made in writing as a supplement to the application to the Archway Learning Trust.
All requests to educate a child outside their normal year group must include evidence of the child’s circumstance from a relevant professional detailing the child’s educational need which makes education outside the normal age group necessary. Parents must consider the impact of a child being educated with children of a different age.
Admission Arrangements
Bluecoat Beechdale Academy has an admission number of 180 for places in Year 7 in September 2027.
Consideration of applications:
The Trust will consider all applications for places. Where fewer applicants than the published admission number(s) for the relevant year group are received, all those who have applied will be offered a place at the Academy.
Children, who have an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP), naming Bluecoat Beechdale Academy, will be admitted first, followed by looked after and previously looked after children and then children of staff. This will reduce the number of reserved places available for other applicants on a pro rata basis.
Oversubscription criteria:
(see notes on page 4 for definitions)
After the admission of students with a statutory right to a place at the Academy through an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP), naming Bluecoat Beechdale Academy, the criteria will be applied in the order in which they are set out below:
1) 1Looked after child or a child who was previously looked after but immediately after being looked after became subject to an adoption, child arrangements, or special guardianship order including children who were previously in state care outside of England and who ceased to be in state care as a result of being adopted.
2) 2Priority will next be given to the Children of staff, specifically teaching or support staff, full or part-time on the payroll of the Archway Learning Trust working at Bluecoat Beechdale Academy at the time of admission, where:
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- the member of staff has been employed at the academy for two or more years at the time at which the application for admission to the school is made, and/or
- the member of staff is recruited to fill a vacant post for which there is a demonstrable skill shortage.
3) Priority will next be given to children attending Bluecoat Primary Academy.
4) Places will then be given to applicants who have a 3sibling who will be attending the Academy at the time of the applicant’s admission.
5) Priority will next be given to children who live the shortest *distance from their home address to Bluecoat Beechdale Academy. Distance will be measured in a straight line from the centre of the child’s main home to the entrance of Bluecoat Beechdale Academy.
In the event of the oversubscription within any criteria 2-5, the following criteria will apply in this order:
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- i) Whether the child has a 3sibling who will be attending the Bluecoat Beechdale Academy at the date of admission
- ii) *the nearness of the child’s home to Bluecoat Beechdale Academy, Harvey Road, Nottingham, NG8 3GP.
- iii) In the event such a measure is identical to the nearest meter for two or more children and there are insufficient places available for both or all of them, the remaining place/s will be award by random allocation using lots drawn by a person independent of the Academy.
*Distance will be measured in a straight line from the centre of the child’s main home to the entrance of Bluecoat Beechdale Academy, Harvey Road, Nottingham, NG8 3GP. This point of measurement has been determined to be within a reasonable radius of the intended area the school will serve. Shared properties e.g. Flats, the centre will be taken from the centre of the building.
In-Year Admissions:
Applications for places after the usual entry point (e.g., after Year 7) should be made directly to the Trust. If places are available and there is no waiting list, an offer will be made to the applicant. If there are more applicants than available places, the oversubscription criteria will apply. In the event of oversubscription, parents/carers whose application is unsuccessful have the right to appeal to an independent appeal panel, and their child’s name will be placed on a waiting list.
In-Year Applications should be completed using our application form available on the academy website www.bluecoatbeechdale.co.uk under Prospective Parents > How to Apply. Alternatively, where this is not possible a paper application can be collected from the academy. Paper applications should be returned to: Admissions, Bluecoat Beechdale Academy, Harvey Road, Nottingham, NG8 3GP.
Parents/carers will be notified of the application outcome within 15 school days of submission.
Waiting list:
In accordance with the Nottingham City Secondary Co-ordinated Admissions Scheme, when the number of applications received during the normal admissions round exceeds the number of available places in Year 7, the Nottingham City Local Authority will maintain a waiting list in conjunction with the Trust from the offer day until the start of the academic year. After that, the Trust will manage the waiting list until 31st December 2027.
Children will automatically be added to the waiting list for a place if they were refused entry and their application was ranked above the secondary where they were offered a place. Where the academy was ranked lower than the secondary where they were offered a place, Parents/Carers must make a written request to the LA for their child’s name to be added to the waiting list.
For in-year applications, if the Trust receives more applications than available places, a waiting list will be maintained until the end of the term in which the application was received. If places become available in any year, they will be allocated to children on the waiting list in accordance with the oversubscription criteria.
Arrangements for appeals panels:
Where a parent/carer has been refused a place for their child at Bluecoat Beechdale Academy, they will have the right to appeal to an independent appeal panel. The arrangements for appeals will be in line with the School Admissions Appeals Code published by the Department of Education. The determination of the appeal panel will be made in accordance with the School Admission Appeal Code and is binding on all parties.
Appeals should be made to the Independent Appeals Clerk, c/o Bluecoat Beechdale Academy, Harvey Road, Nottingham, NG8 3GP within 20 school days of refusal. Information on the timetable for the appeals process is on our website www.bluecoatbeechdale.co.uk under Prospective Parents > Appeals.
Notwithstanding these arrangements, the Secretary of State may direct the Trust to admit a named student to the Academy upon application from any Local Authority. Before doing so, the Secretary of State will consult with the Trust.
Late Applications:
Late applications received after the closing date of 31st October 2026 will be dealt with after those made on time. Under exceptional circumstances the local authority may be willing to accept applications which are received late and consider them as on time however, this will be on a case-by-case basis. All other late applications that are received after the Nottingham City Council deadline date will be dealt with after the national offer day.
Fair access protocol:
The 2009 School Admissions Code required all local authorities to establish in-year fair access protocols to ensure that access to education is secured quickly for children who have no education place, and to ensure that all schools and academies in an area admit their fair share of vulnerable and challenging children and young people. The code requires that all educational settings and academies must participate in their local authority’s protocol in order to ensure that unplaced children are offered a place at a suitable educational setting as quickly as possible. This includes admitting children above the published admission number to schools and academies that are already full. Bluecoat Beechdale Academy and the Trust will participate fully in the Nottingham City Council’s fair access protocol.
Notes:
1) Children in Public Care – A looked after or previously looked after child is:
(a) in the care of a local authority or being provided with accommodation by a local authority in the exercise of their social services functions in accordance with section 22(1) of the Children Act 1989, at the time of making an application to a school.
(b) or a child who has been *adopted, placed under a **special guardianship order, or subject to a ***child arrangements order after being in care. This also extends to children who are considered to have been in state care outside of England if they were in the care of, or accommodated by, a public authority, a religious organisation, or any other care provider whose primary purpose is to benefit society.
*an adoption order refers to an order under the Adoption Act 1976 (see section 12, adoption orders), as well as children adopted under the Adoption and Children’s Act 2002 (see section 46, adoption orders).
**Section 14A of the Children Act 1989 defines a ‘special guardianship order’ as an order appointing one or more individuals to be a child’s special guardian (or special guardians).
***child arrangements orders are defined in Section 8 of the Children Act 1989, as amended by Section 12 of the Children and Families Act 2014. Child arrangements orders replace residence orders and any residence order in force prior to 22 April 2014 is deemed to be a child arrangements order.
2) Children of staff – The term staff child includes:
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- a biological child of staff members;
- an adopted child of staff members;
- a stepchild* living in the same household as the member of staff, where the staff member’s spouse or civil partner is the child’s parent / legal guardian.
3) Sibling – The term sibling includes:
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- a brother or sister who share the same parents;
- a half-brother or half-sister, where two children share one common parent, living at the same address;
- a stepbrother or stepsister, who are related by a parent’s marriage or civil partnership, living at the same address,
- adopted or fostered children or children living at the same address under the terms of a child arrangements or special guardianship order.
Where applications are received for twins, triplets, or other children of multiple births, if one child from the multiple birth is allocated a place, all children from the same multiple birth will be offered a place. This may result in the Academy admitting above the published admission number.
4) Home Address The child’s place of residence is taken to be the parental home, other than in the case of children fostered by local authority, where either the parental address or the foster parent’s address may be used. Where a child spends part of the week in different homes, one of which is not a parental address, their place of residence will be taken to be their parent or parents’ address. If a child’s parents live at separate addresses, where the child permanently spends at least 3 school nights, i.e. Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday will be taken to be the place of residence, even when the child stays there for all or part of the week.
Evidence that a child’s place of residence is permanent may also be sought. Such evidence should demonstrate that a child lived at the address at the time of the application and will continue to live thereafter the time of admission. Informal arrangements, even between parents, will not be taken into consideration. Proof of residence from the courts regarding parental responsibilities in these matters may be sought.
How to Respond
Comments can be submitted in the following ways:
Online Consultation Form: Archway Learning Trust – Admission Arrangements Consultation 2027/28 – Online form
Email: admissions@archwaytrust.co.uk
Post: Admissions Services Lead, Archway Learning Trust, Aspley Lane, Nottingham, NG8 5GY
Please clearly state on your response that it relates to Bluecoat Beechdale Academy. All responses must be received by 5:00pm on 19 January 2026.