School admissions consultation 2026

Closed 31 Jan 2025

Opened 5 Dec 2024

Contact

School Admissions Team

admissions@buckinghamshire.gov.uk

Feedback updated 3 Mar 2025

We asked

We asked for your views about proposed changes to school admissions in Buckinghamshire for September 2026. 

These changes were: 

  • updates to the county admissions scheme and school admission rules (also known as oversubscription criteria) 

The consultation ran from 5 December 2024 to 31 January 2025. 

You said

Six people responded to us regarding the five schools changing their published admission numbers and the school extending its catchment area. The six people had mixed views on these changes.

Three of these people additionally responded to us regarding the updates to the county admissions scheme and school admission rules. One email was also received concerning admissions issues. 

We did

Although some respondents disagreed with some of the proposed changes to admissions numbers and catchment, the very low level of participation in the consultation, despite it being promoted, reflected the fact that the changes were minor and considered non-controversial. 

Because all the directly affected governing bodies were party to the decision to consult and agreed with the suggested changes, the very small number of expressions of disagreement in the consultation were not deemed to carry sufficient weight to affect these schools’ proposed changes. 

Similarly, the proposed updates to the county admissions scheme and school admission rules were very minor and attracted only three survey responses and one email in the form of comments. 

Some of the comments received addressed wider concerns than those changes that were being proposed. As the concerns expressed related to aspects of the admission rules that were not being proposed for change, they fell outside of the scope of this consultation. However, these responses will be taken into account when considering future changes. 

As a result of the overall small number of responses the decision was made to proceed with the proposed changes, and a decision was taken on 24 February 2025 by the Leader of the Council and the Cabinet Member for Education and Children’s Services to: 

  • adopt the proposed changes in the published admission numbers for five schools 

  • adopt the proposed change in the catchment area for Waddesdon Village Primary School 

  • confirm the county admissions scheme and school admission rules. 

Overview

Buckinghamshire Council logo

We want to hear your views about proposed changes to school admissions for 2026 entry. 

Buckinghamshire Council is the admission authority for all voluntary controlled and community schools in the council area. Each year we consult on any planned changes to the county admissions scheme, school admission rules (oversubscription criteria), published admission number (PAN) and catchment areas. 

No significant changes are proposed to the county admissions scheme or the admission rules for either primary or secondary schools for 2026 entry. However, following good practice advice from the government Office of the Schools Adjudicator, they have been reformatted to provide separate admission criteria for both the main point of entry and in-year admissions.

Changes are proposed to increase the PAN for two schools and reduce the PAN for three schools following requests from their governing bodies. Increases to the PAN do not require formal consultation but a reduction to a school’s PAN does require formal consultation.

Schools where an increase in the PAN is proposed:

Schools where a reduction in the PAN is proposed:

We are proposing to extend the catchment of one school for which we are the admission authority - Waddesdon Village Primary School - following the closure of Westcott Church of England School. Other local academy/voluntary aided schools will be consulting on this separately to ensure the area previously included in the Westcott School catchment is included in at least one school’s catchment area.  

The Cabinet Member for Education and Children's Services agreed on 14 November 2024 to consult on these matters. This consultation will close on 31 January 2025 and then the 2026 voluntary controlled and community school admission arrangements will then be determined. This will be the subject of a council cabinet member or leader decision prior to 28 February 2025.

How to have your say  

You can tell us your views in one of the following ways: 

If you have any questions about this activity, or require this information in another format or language, please email us at admissions@buckinghamshire.gov.uk. 

Please tell us your views by 11:59pm on 31 January 2025.

Privacy

We will use the information you provide here only for this activity. We will store the information securely in line with data protection laws and will not share or publish any personal details. For more information about data and privacy, please see our Privacy Policy.

If you have questions about data and privacy, please email us on dataprotection@buckinghamshire.gov.uk or write to our Data Protection Officer at Buckinghamshire Council, The Gateway, Gatehouse Road, Aylesbury, HP19 8FF.

Areas

  • All Areas

Interests

  • Schools & education