In these arrangements, “parent” means the parent of or adult with legal responsibility for, the child (candidate) for whom a place at The London Oratory School is being sought.
Twenty boys will be admitted to the Junior House at the age of seven for a specialist musical education. In determining to which candidates places will be offered, priority will always be given to Catholics (defined as a baptised person in full communion with the See of Rome). Of the twenty places, up to ten are to be offered to choristers. Boys in the Junior House are full members of the School and are expected to remain at the School until the end of their secondary phase of education.
In the first instance only candidates falling under Category A and B will be considered. Only if there are insufficient candidates in these categories will category C, D, E and F children be considered.
Candidates will be tested for general ability. Those candidates whose ability test score indicates average or above average ability will then be considered in relation to suitability for a specialist music course as assessed in the musical audition, to determine to whom places will be offered.
The music audition will involve candidates being tested aurally and orally for general musical aptitude and potential, and, in the case of candidates applying to be a chorister, for choral aptitude and suitability as a chorister. The purpose of the audition is to assess the candidate’s musical potential and suitability for a specialist musical education at the School. A candidate whose application for a place as a chorister is unsuccessful, may still be considered for a place as a non-chorister.
In the event of over-subscription, the arrangements set out below will be used to determine the boys to whom the places will be offered.
After the admission of boys with an Education, Health and Care Plan which names the School, places will be allocated according to the criteria below.
The School will admit 160 boys from across London to the first form (year 7) without reference to ability. In determining to which candidates places will be offered, priority will always be given to Catholics (see note 1).After the admission of boys with an Education, Health and Care Plan which names the School, places will be allocated according to the arrangements below.
Each year the School admits 40 external candidates 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 one of the meetings for parents and prospective pupils, 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 which will be sought from each pupil’s current school. Those candidates, whose applications best indicate suitability for sixth form study, may be invited to attend a course guidance 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 Catholics (defined as a baptised person in full communion with the See of Rome). 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.
Parents are encouraged, accompanied if possible by their son or daughter, to attend one of the meetings for parents of prospective pupils, where the Headmaster and his staff will explain the nature of the School, the demands it makes of both pupils and their parents and the commitment which they make when they accept a place at the School. These meetings do not play a part in the admission decision-making process and attendance is not a condition for allocation of a place. The dates of meetings for parents and prospective pupils are:
You should submit, to this school, our Supplementary Information Form and Music Inquiry Formby Friday 8th January 2021. Parents will be informed of the outcome by the third week in February 2021.
Applications received after the applicable closing date given in these arrangements will only be considered in exceptional circumstances, for example, when a family has just moved from abroad. Separate provision is made for candidates with an Education, Health and Care Plan.
There were 39 applications for the 20 places in Junior House in September 2020.
Applications for places should be made on your local authority’s e admission system and on The London Oratory School Supplementary Information Form (SIF) for those applicants who, in the case of there being more applicants than places available, wish to be considered against the relevant over- subscription criteria. The SIF, which must be submitted as a hard copy, is available from the School. All applicants should register an application on the e-admission system by 31st October 2020. You should submit the SIF to this school by 30th October 2020. Parents will be informed of the outcome on 1st March 2021.
Applications received after the applicable closing date given in these arrangements will only be considered in exceptional circumstances, for example, when a family has just moved from abroad.
Separate provision is made for candidates with an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP). Details of this separate procedure are set out in the SEN Code of Practice.
There were 992 applications for the 160 places (Published Admission Number) in first form in September 2020.
Children and parents applying for a place in the Sixth Form as an external candidate should do so by completing The London Oratory School Supplementary Information Form and the Sixth Form Courses sheet (both of which form part of the sixth form admissions pack available from the School) and submitting these to the School by Friday 6th November 2020. Applicants will be informed of the outcome by the second week in February 2021.
Applications received after the applicable closing date given in these arrangements will only be considered in exceptional circumstances, for example, when a family has just moved from abroad. Separate provision is made for candidates with an Education, Health and Care Plan.
There were 369 applications for the 40 places (Published Admission Number) in Sixth Form in September 2020.
Parents are encouraged, accompanied if possible by their son or daughter, to attend one of the meetings for parents of prospective pupils, where the Headmaster and his staff will explain the nature of the School, the demands it makes of both pupils and their parents and the commitment which they make when they accept a place at the School. These meetings do not play a part in the admission decision-making process and attendance is not a condition for allocation of a place. The dates of meetings for parents and prospective pupils are:
The dates of meetings for parents and prospective Junior House pupils are:
Wednesday, 28th October 2020 at 6.00pm
Thursday, 12th November 2020 at 2.00pm
For further details of these meetings and other enquiries please contact the School’s Registrar.
Given the current COVID situation, the First Form Prospective Pupil evening has been made available online from Thursday 10th September. Please do take time to watch and absorb the information on the online presentation with your prospective applicant. These meetings do not play a part in the admission decision-making process and attendance is not a condition for allocation of a place. They do, however, give an important flavour of the School and set out the expectations and obligations that form the basis of the home-school relationship.
For further details of these meetings and other enquiries please contact the School’s Registrar.
The dates of meetings for parents and prospective pupils are:
Wednesday, 30th September 2020 at 6.00pm
Thursday, 8th October 2020 at 6.00pm
For further details of these evenings and other enquiries please contact the School’s Sixth Form Registrar.
After the admission of pupils with an Education, Health and Care Plan which names the School, places will be allocated according to the criteria below.
Category A
Catholic looked after children and Catholic children who have been adopted, or made subject to child arrangements orders or special guardianship orders, immediately following having been looked after (see notes 3, 4 ,5 and 6).
Category B
Candidates from practising Catholic families with a Certificate of Catholic Practice (see note 2). Within this category the following candidates will have priority:
(1) Candidates who have a sibling at the School on the date of admission to the School (see note 7). Candidates meeting this criterion will be placed at the top of Category B.
(2) Candidates who are a sibling of a former pupil (see note 8). Candidates meeting this criterion will be placed at the top of Category B after any candidates meeting (1) above.
Category C
Other Catholic children.
Category D
Other looked after and previously looked after children (see notes 3, 4, 5 and 6).
Category E
Catechumens (see note 9) and members of an Eastern Christian Church (see note 10)
.Category F
Any other children.
Tie-break
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 by an independent external organisation until a rank of all candidates has been established. If the School is oversubscribed by Catholic applicants with a Certificate of Catholic Practice, only children from Category B will be included in the tie-break.
Offers of places will be sent in the second week of February 2020, with the necessary forms to complete, asking for a 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 until 31st December 2020, using the priority order set out in the admission policy, of those who have positively indicated their wish to be placed on the list. Each added child will require the list to be ranked again in line with the published over-subscription criteria. Priority will not be given to children based on the date their application was received or their name was added to the list.
The School is committed to taking its fair share of children who are vulnerable and/or hard to place, as set out in locally agreed protocols. Accordingly, outside the normal admissions round the Governing Body is empowered to give absolute priority to a child where admission is requested under any local protocol that has been agreed by both the Diocese and the Governing Body for the current school year. The Governing Body has this power even when admitting the child would mean exceeding the published admission number.
Parents may apply for their child to be educated outside his/her chronological age group i.e. a year behind or a year ahead. Application should be made to the Chair of Governors at the time of application and any supporting evidence should be submitted at the same time. Governors will consider each case on its own merits and permission will only be given in exceptional circumstances.
If an application for a place is unsuccessful, parents will be given an opportunity to appeal against the decision to an appeal panel set up in accordance with the statutory provisions in force at the time.
1. Catholic means a member of a Church in full communion with the See of Rome. This includes the Eastern Catholic Churches. This will normally be evidenced by a certificate of baptism in a Catholic Church or a certificate of reception into the full communion of the Catholic Church. For the purposes of this policy, it includes a looked after child who is part of a Catholic family where a letter from a priest demonstrates that the child would have been baptised or received if it were not for their status as a looked after child (e.g. a looked after child in the process of adoption by a Catholic family).For a child to be treated as Catholic, evidence of baptism or reception into the Church will be required. Those who have difficulty obtaining written evidence of baptism should contact their Parish Priest who, after consulting with the Diocese, will decide how the question of baptism is to be resolved and how written evidence is to be produced in accordance with the laws of the Church.
2. Certificate of Catholic Practice means a certificate issued by the family’s parish priest (or the priest in charge of the church where the family attends Mass) in the form laid down by the Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales. It will be issued if the priest is satisfied that at least one Catholic parent or carer (along with the child, if he or she is over seven years old) have (except when it was impossible to do so) attended Mass on Sundays and holy days of obligation for at least five years (or, in the case of a child, since the age of seven, if shorter). It will also be issued when the practice has been continuous since being received into the Church if that occurred less than five years ago. It is expected that most Certificates will be issued on the basis of attendance. A Certificate may also be issued by the priest when attendance is interrupted by exceptional circumstances which excuse from the obligation to attend on that occasion or occasions. Further details of these circumstances can be found in the guidance issued to priests [appendix 5 of the Diocesan Guidance on Admission to Catholic Schools http://rcdow.org.uk/education/governors/admissions]
3. Looked after child has the same meaning as in s.22 of the Children Act 1989, and means any child in the care of a local authority or provided with accommodation by them (e.g. children with foster parents at the time of making an application to the school).
4. Adopted refers to a child who is adopted under the terms of the Adoption and Children Act 2002 s.46 (adoption orders).
5. Child Arrangements Order means an order under the terms of the Children Act 1989 s.8 settling the arrangements to be made as to the person with whom the child is to live. Children ‘looked after’ immediately before the order is made qualify in this category.
6. Special Guardianship Order means an order under the terms of the Children Act 1989 s.14A which defines it as an order appointing one or more individuals to be a child’s special guardian(s).
7. Sibling is defined as a brother or sister of whole or half-blood, or an adopted brother or sister who permanently resides at the same address.
8. Sibling of a former pupil is defined as a brother or sister of whole or half-blood, or an adopted brother or sister, of a former pupil who completed at least one full year of education at the School.
9. Catechumen means a member of the catechumenate of a Catholic Church. This will normally be evidenced by a certificate of reception into the order of catechumens.
10. Eastern Christian Church includes Orthodox Churches, and is normally evidenced by a certificate of baptism or reception from the authorities of that Church.
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.
Applications for In‐Year admissions are made directly to the school. If a place is available and there is no waiting list, the pupil will be admitted. If more applications are received than there are places available then applications will be ranked by the Governing Body in accordance with the over subscription criteria for the relevant age group.
For in‐year admission to First to Fifth Form (Year 7 to Year 11) applications will be considered under the same Arrangements as published for Admission to First Form with the exception of the requirement to submit the e-application form to your local authority.
For In‐Year admission to Junior House (Year 3 to Year 6) applications will be considered under the same Arrangements as published for Admission to Junior House.
For In‐Year admission to Sixth Form (Year 12 and Year 13) applications will be considered under the same Arrangements as published for Admission to Sixth Form.
Applicants applying for an In‐Year place who, in the case of there being more applicants than places available wish to be considered against the over-subscription criteria, should submit the relevant.
In‐Year Supplementary Information Form which is available from the school. A sample form can be viewed on the school website.
If a place cannot be offered at the time of applying for an In‐Year place applicants will be offered the opportunity of being placed on the waiting list for the appropriate year group. This waiting list will be adjusted to accommodate any additional applications and will be maintained in the order of the over-subscription criteria and not in the order in which the applications are received. If a place becomes available and it is necessary to separate two otherwise equally placed candidates on the waiting list, random allocation is used as a tie‐breaker; this process is administered by an independent external body.