Arrangements for Admission to the Sixth Form

for 2014

Each year the School admits 40 girls and boys to the sixth-form for A level and AS courses. The School will only consider candidates suitable for the A level and AS courses published by the School. All places will be offered conditional on candidates meeting the Requirements for Advanced Courses, which is part of the Sixth Form Courses booklet for the year concerned. Parents and pupils are advised to attend a meeting which will provide advice on options and entry requirements for particular courses.

An assessment of suitability for an A-level course will be made from information about expected performance at GCSE and suitability for an A level course which will be sought from each pupil’s current School. Those candidates, whose applications best indicate suitability for sixth form study, will be invited to attend a course suitability meeting at the School. This is designed to provide advice concerning subject choices and to enable prospective pupils to determine how their needs and requirements can be best met at the School.

In determining which suitable candidates will be offered a place, priority will always be given to practising Catholics. ^[1]In the event of over subscription, the arrangements set out below will be used to determine the girls and boys to whom the places will be offered.

Over-subscription Criteria

By applying the over-subscription criteria below, in their given order, applications will be ranked. Each criterion is applied in turn to determine the candidates to whom places will be offered.

Primary Over-subscription Criteria

(1) Catholic looked after children and Catholic children who have been adopted (or made subject to residence orders or special guardianship orders) immediately following having been looked after.

(2) The extent to which the candidate and a Catholic parent meet their obligations in respect of Mass attendance on Sundays and Holy Days of Obligation.^[2]

(3) The extent to which the candidate fulfils the Church’s requirements regarding

Baptism.^[3]

(4) Whether the candidate has received his or her first Holy Communion.

(5) Service in any Catholic Parish or in the wider Catholic Church by the candidate or a Catholic parent. ^[4]

Other Over-subscription Criteria

(6) Whether the candidate has a brother or sister^[5] at the School on the date of

admission to the School.

(7) Whether the candidate has attended the London Oratory Primary School or any other Catholic School for the whole of their primary and secondary education or the candidate’s parent(s) have fulfilled their obligation to ensure a Catholic education for their child.^[6]

(8) Whether the candidate is a sibling of a former pupil.

(9) Whether the candidate and his parents regularly attend Mass on Sundays and Holy Days of Obligation at the London Oratory Church, for a sustained period of at least three years.

Ranking

Points are awarded to each of the over-subscription criteria:

Under criteria (2) and (3) applications will be ranked using a scale of 0 to 4 with an application which meets the criterion in full being awarded 4 and a 0 for those applications which do not meet the criterion at all.

Under criterion (4) a score of 1 is given to a candidate who satisfies the criterion and 0 for those candidates who do not.

Under criterion (5) applications will be ranked using a scale of 0 to 2 with points determined according to whether service has been for three years or more.

Under criteria (6) to (9) a score of 1 is given to a candidate who satisfies the criterion and 0 for those candidates who do not.

Ranking is achieved by applying each of the criteria in turn. Candidates who fall within criterion 1 are given priority. Then criterion 2 is applied to all remaining candidates. If there are more candidates meeting criterion 2 in full (i.e. with a score of 4) than places available, then these candidates will be ranked against criterion 3. If there are more candidates meeting criterion 2 and 3 in full (i.e. a score of 4 for criterion 2 and a score of 4 for criterion 3) than places available, then these candidates will be ranked in turn against each of the other over-subscription criteria. Each of the criteria 4 to 9 will be applied in the same manner, until a final ranking has been achieved.

In the event of a tie

In the event of a tie for a place after the above criteria have been applied a ballot system of random allocation will be used with each tied candidate’s name being entered into the ballot and names then selected randomly until a rank of all candidates has been established.

How is an application made?

All candidates must complete The London Oratory School’s Religious Inquiry Form, which may be obtained from the School, which must be completed in accordance with the instructions printed on the form and returned to the School on or before the applicable closing date given in these arrangements.

Applications which are received by the School without a Religious Inquiry Form or which are incomplete or which are received by the School after the applicable closing date or which do not include the required supporting certificates, will be invalid. The School is under no obligation to advise parents on or before the applicable closing date that the application is in any way deficient.

OFFERS

The School will write to the parents with successful applications in the second week of February 2014, providing them with the necessary forms to complete, asking them to reply within five working days, so that places not taken up at this stage can then be offered to the next most suitable candidates on the list. After admissions decisions have been made and places have been accepted, the Governors will hold a waiting list of candidates from those parents who have positively indicated their wish to be placed thereon. Parents whose applications are unsuccessful are entitled under the School Standards & Framework Act 1998 to appeal against the Governing Body’s decision.

NOTES

^[1]In the event of there being fewer Catholic applicants than places, consideration will be given to non-Catholic applicants who actively support the aims, values, expectations and ethos of the School, in the following order: Other looked after children and children who have been adopted (or made subject to residence orders or special guardianship orders) immediately following having been looked after followed by members of the Eastern Christian Churches (which include the Orthodox Churches); members of the Church of England; members of other Christian denominations; members of non-Christian faiths. In respect of these categories, parents will be required to provide evidence that they and their son or daughter practise their faith in accordance with the teachings, doctrines, rites and practices of the faith to which they belong. The School will not offer a place to a non-Catholic applicant if it would thereby be unable to offer a place to a suitable Catholic applicant. For members of Eastern Catholic churches the relevant CCEO canons will apply.

^[2]Whether the candidate and his or her Catholic parent or parents meet their obligation in respect of Mass attendance every Sunday (or Saturday Vigil) Mass and on Holy Days of Obligation is determined by reference to the current Code of Canon Law, canons 1246, 1247, 1248 copies of which are reproduced for reference at the end of this document. Endorsed by priest's reference, points are allocated within range:

Sustained Mass attendance for SM and HDO by candidate and Catholic parent or

parents 4

Sustained Mass attendance for SM but not always on HDO by candidate and Catholic

parentor parents 3

Sustained Mass attendance for SM and HDO by candidate and one parent where both

are Catholic 2

Irregular Mass attendance by candidate and parent(s), or only recently started to practise 1

No regular practice 0

^[3]Whether the candidate has met the requirements in respect of Baptism is determined with reference to the current Code of Canon Law, canon 867 a copy of which is reproduced for reference at the end of this document. This should be endorsed by an original full certificate of Baptism, points allocated are:

Received Baptism at appropriate age (up to six months after birth) 4

Received Baptism within five years of the appropriate age 2

Candidate has not received Baptism 0

Where the child has been adopted the calculation is made from the date of the adoption order. Where verified evidence of exceptional circumstances can be produced that demonstrate that the parents were not bound by canon law to have their child baptised any earlier than the actual date of baptism (being later than 6 months after birth) then 4 points will be allocated.

^[4]Service by the Candidate or Catholic parent in any Catholic parish or in the wider Catholic Church in each of the last three years. Examples of service include:

Involvement in parish activities:

(a) Assisting in the Liturgy: for example by reading, singing in the choir or playing

an instrument, altar serving, cleaning, flower arranging.

(b) Assisting in parish pastoral work: for example by visiting those in need, participating

in parish groups such as St Vincent de Paul, Catholic Women's League, Union of Catholic

Mothers, Legion of Mary or similar prayer groups or societies.

(c) Assisting in parish administration: for example housekeeping and maintenance of

church property.

Involvement in wider Catholic Church activities:

(a)Assisting in or membership of organisations or groups

(b) Voluntary work: by visiting or helping the sick, housebound or disadvantaged.

Points allocated for service are:

Service over the three years 2

Service of less than three years 1

No service 0

^[5]A ‘brother' or ‘sister' of whole or half blood, or any other candidate (including an adopted candidate) who permanently resides at the same address and for whom the parent also has parental responsibility.

^[6]The obligation mentioned is set out in canon 798 (CCEO 633). This can be demonstrated to the governors in a number of ways including evidence that:

(a) the boy has attended a Catholic school for the whole of his statutory education; or

(b) formal provision has been made for the boy's Catholic education outside school at any stage where he was unable to attend a Catholic school. This could be, for example, participation in a programme run by a local parish.

NOTES ON CATHOLIC PRACTICE

Extract from the current Code of Canon Law, promulgated by Pope John Paul II on 25th January 1983. For members of Eastern Catholic churches the relevant CCEO canons will apply.

MASS ATTENDANCE

Canon 1246. Sunday, on which by apostolic tradition the paschal mystery is celebrated, is to be observed in the universal Church as the primary day of obligation. The following feast days are also to be observed as holydays of obligation: the Nativity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Apostles Peter and Paul and All Saints

Canon 1247. On Sundays and other holydays of obligation, the faithful are obliged to participate in the Mass. They are also to abstain from such work or business that would inhibit the worship to be given to God, the joy proper to the Lord's Day, or the due relaxation of mind and body.

Canon 1248. The obligation of participating in the Mass is satisfied by one who assists at Mass wherever it is celebrated in the Catholic rite, either on the holyday of obligation itself or on the evening of the previous day. If it is impossible to participate in a Eucharistic celebration, either because no sacred minister is available or for some other grave reason, the faithful are strongly recommended to take part in the liturgy of the Word, if there be such in the parish church or some other sacred place, which is celebrated in accordance with the provisions laid down by the diocesan Bishop; or to spend an appropriate time in prayer, whether personally or as a family or as occasion presents, in groups of families.

BAPTISM

Canon 867. §1 Parents are obliged to see that their infants are baptised within the first few weeks. As soon as possible after the birth, indeed even before it, they are to approach the parish priest to ask for the sacrament for their candidate, and to be themselves duly prepared for it. §2 If the infant is in danger of death, it is to be baptised without any delay.

CATHOLIC EDUCATION

Canon 226. §1 Those who are married are bound by the special obligation, in accordance with their own vocation, to strive for the building up of the people of God through their marriage and family. §2 Because they gave life to their children, parents have the most serious obligation and the right to educate them. It is therefore primarily the responsibility of Christian parents to ensure the Christian education of their children in accordance with the teaching of the church.

Canon 793. §1 Parents, and those who take their place, have both the obligation and the right to educate their children. Catholic parents have also the duty and the right to choose those means and institutes which, in their local circumstances, can best promote the Catholic education of their children. §2 Parents have moreover the right to avail themselves of that assistance from civil society which they need to provide a Catholic education for their children.

Canon 796. §1 Among the means of advancing education, Christ's faithful are to consider Schools as of great importance, since they are the principal means of helping parents to fulfil their role in education. §2 There must be the closest cooperation between parents and the teachers to whom they entrust their children to be educated. In fulfilling their task, teachers are to collaborate closely with the parents and willingly listen to them; associations and meetings of parents are to be set up and held in high esteem.

Canon 798. Parents are to send their children to those Schools which will provide for their Catholic education. If they cannot do this, they are bound to ensure the proper Catholic education of their children outside the School.

^‡The age of reason is presumed to occur on completion of the seventh year of age (Canon 97 §2) and, therefore, the normal age for first holy communion will be seven years (year 3 of primary School).