Appendix 1 – The Leigh Academy Catchment Area
The Leigh Academies Trust is the Admissions Authority of The Leigh Academy. Applications for places will be made in accordance with the Kent Local Authority co- ordinated admissions scheme and timetable.
The Leigh Academy’s admission policy is consistent with the School Admissions Code. It reflects the commitment of the academy to continue to make a major contribution to the educational provision in Dartford and to be inclusive in its approach.
The Leigh Academy has an agreed published admission number of 240 for entry into Year 7 for the year 2025/26 and Post-16 of up to 300.
Process of Application
To apply for a place at The Leigh Academy, an applicant must apply through their home Local Authority, in accordance with the Co-ordinated Planned Admission scheme.
Consideration of applications
All applications for places will be considered. Where fewer than 240 applications are received, the academy will offer places to all those who have applied.
All applicants will be invited to sit a cognitive ability assessment. This is to ensure that the academy admits a fully comprehensive range of abilities. It is not possible to pass or fail the assessment, but those not sitting the assessment at all, will only be prioritised after those children who have sat the assessment. The dates of the assessment will be published widely, including on the academy website. Parents/carers wishing to apply for The Leigh Academy should do so to the local authority in the usual way and register for the assessment by sending a Fair Ability Banding Assessment Form, available from the academy website, to the main office of the academy prior to the cognitive ability assessment date.
Requests for admission outside of the normal age group should be made to the Principal as early as possible in the admissions round associated with the child’s date of birth. This allows the academy and admissions authority sufficient time to decide before the closing date. Parents/Carers are not expected to provide evidence to support their request, however where provided it must be specific to the child in question and may include medical or Educational Psychologist reports. There is no legal requirement for this medical or educational evidence to be secured from an appropriate professional, however, failure to provide this may impede the academy’s ability to agree to a request for admission outside of the normal age group. Parents/Carers are required to complete an application for the normal point of entry at the same time, in case their request is declined. Applications must be made to the Local Authority, with written confirmation from the academy Principal attached. Applications will be processed in the same way as all applications for the cohort in the following admissions round, and offers will be made in accordance with the academy’s oversubscription criteria.
Procedures where the academy is oversubscribed
Applications for places at the academy will be considered as follows:
- Before the application of oversubscription criteria, the following groups will be admitted and the published admissions number will be reduced accordingly:
- Children with a Statement of Special Education Need or Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) that names The Leigh Academy.
- Those applicants who have undertaken the cognitive ability assessment will then be split into 5 equally sized bands, based on the results of the cognitive ability assessment. This is to ensure that students across a broad range of abilities are admitted. If the number of applicants is not divisible by five the following process will apply:
- If there is one extra applicant when the number of applicants is divided by five there will be an additional applicant placed in Band 2;
- If there are two extra applicants, there will be one additional applicant placed in Band 3 and one in Band 4;
- If there are three extra applicants there will be one additional applicant placed in Band 5, one in Band 1 and one in Band 2;
- If there are four extra applicants there will be one additional applicant placed in Bands 2, 3, 4 and 5 respectively.
Once students have been allocated to a band then priority within each band will be given in the following order:
(a) Looked After Children or previously Looked After Children – A Looked After Child is one who is (a) in the care of a Local Authority, or (b) being provided with accommodation by a local authority in the exercise of their social services functions (see definition in section 22(1) of the Children Act 1989). (c) A previously Looked After Child is a child who was adopted, or subject to a Child Arrangement Order, or special guardianship order, immediately following having been looked after. (d) Children as internationally adopted previously looked after children (IAPLAC)
(b) Children attending Leigh Academies Trust Primary Academies – priority will be given where the child attends a Leigh Academies Trust Primary and The Leigh Academy is the closest secondary school to the child’s permanent or main residence, ranked by distance. We use the distance between the child’s permanent home address and the academy, measured in a straight line using the National Land and Property Gazetteer (NLPG) address point data. Distances are measured from a point defined as within the child’s home to a point defined as within the academy as specified by the NLPG. The same address point on the academy site is used for everybody. When we apply the distance criterion for the academy, these straight-line measurements are used to determine how close each applicant’s address is to the academy. A maximum of 8 places will be offered in each band under this criterion. If there are insufficient qualifying applications, remaining places will be offered to other children within the band.
Inner and outer catchment areas have been defined and 70% of the remaining places will be offered to those living in the inner catchment and 30% to those in the outer catchment. (The two areas are defined in Appendix 1).
(c) Admission of students whose sibling(s) currently attends the academy and who will continue to do so at the time of entry. For this criterion brother or sister means children who live as brother and sister in the same house, including natural brothers or sisters, adopted siblings, step brothers or sisters, foster brothers or sisters. Children residing in the same households as part of an extended family, such as cousins, will not be treated as siblings. If siblings from multiple births (twins, triplets, etc.) apply for the academy and the academy would reach its Published Admission Number (PAN) after admitting one or more, but before admitting all of those siblings, the academy will offer a place to each of the siblings, even if doing so takes the academy above its PAN. The academy reserves the right to ask for proof of relationship. Priority will only be given to siblings if the family still reside within any of the academy’s catchment areas.
(d) Acute Medical/Social Needs.
Medical, health, social and special access reasons will be applied in accordance with The Leigh Academy’s legal obligations, in particular those under the Equality Act 2010. Priority will be given to those children whose mental or physical impairment means they have a demonstrable and significant need to attend The Leigh Academy. Equally this priority will apply to children whose parents’/guardians’ physical or mental health or social needs mean that they have a demonstrable and significant need to attend the academy. Such claims will need to be supported by written evidence from a suitably qualified, independent registered medical or other practitioner, at the time of original application, who can demonstrate a special connection between these needs and The Leigh Academy.
(e) Child of a staff member
The son or daughter of a member of staff who has been employed at the academy for two or more years at the time at which the application for admission to the academy is made, or who has been recruited to fill a vacant post at the academy for which there is a demonstrable skill shortage. For this criteria son or daughter means a child who lives in the same house as the member of staff, including a natural son or daughter, an adopted child, step son or daughter, or foster child. Children residing in the same households as part of an extended family, such as cousins, will not be eligible under this criterion. If children come from multiple births (twins, triplets, etc.) and the academy would reach its Published Admission Number (PAN) after admitting one or more, but before admitting all of those children, the academy will offer a place to each of the children, even if doing so takes the academy above its PAN. The academy reserves the right to ask for proof of relationship.
(f) The remaining places in each band will be offered by random selection to applicants until the inner: outer mix of 70:30 is achieved. If any places remain unfilled, the remaining places in each band will be offered by random selection to applicants living outside the catchment area.
Appendix 1
The catchment area comprises the following postal areas: DA1 to DA11, DA13, DA14, BR8 and West Kingsdown in TN15. (Please note that proof of residence may be required if a place is offered.) The home address is considered to be where the child resides as their only or principal residence. Proof of liability for Council Tax will be required. If the child resides equally between both parents, the principal home address will be considered as being the address at which the child is registered whilst attending primary school, with a GP and, if applicable, the address of the parent who is in receipt of Child Benefit or Child Tax Credits for the child. For children who reside with a relative or carer other than a parent, a residence order or other court order will be required.
Inner Catchment Area
After the admission of Educational Health Care Plan children, Children in Local Authority Care and Previously Looked After Children, 70% of the remaining places will be offered to children resident in the above postal areas and who attend the following Primary/Junior Schools which are within 3.5 miles distance from The Leigh Academy:
- Bean Primary School
- The Brent Primary
- Cherry Orchard Primary Academy
- Craylands Community Primary School
- Dartford Bridge Community Primary School
- Dartford Primary Academy
- Ebbsfleet Green Primary School
- Fleetdown Primary School
- The Gateway Primary School
- Greenlands Primary School
- Hextable Primary School
- Holy Trinity CE Primary School
- Horton Kirby CEP School
- Joydens Wood Primary School
- Knockhall Community Primary School
- Manor Community Primary School
- Maypole Primary School
- Oakfield Primary Academy
- Our Lady’s RC Primary School
- River Mill Primary School
- St Anselm’s Catholic Primary School
- St Paul’s CEP School
- Stone St Mary’s CofE Primary School
- Sutton-at-Hone CofE Primary School
- Temple Hill Primary School
- Wentworth Primary School
- Westgate Primary School
- West Hill Primary School
- Wilmington Primary School
Outer Catchment Area
After the admission of Educational Health Care Plan children, Children in Local Authority Care and Previously Looked After Children, 30% of the remaining places will be offered to children resident in the above postal areas and who attend other schools.
- Those applicants who did not undertake the cognitive ability assessment will then be considered. Priority will be given in the following order:
(a) Admission of students whose sibling(s) currently attends the academy;
(b) Acute medical/social needs;
(c) Child of a staff member;
(d) Inner/outer catchment
The definitions of these criterions are the same as listed in Section 2 above.
Late Application
Late applications will be considered using the above criteria, but, with the exception of Children in Local Authority Care or previously Looked After Children, only after all applications received by the closing date have first been considered.
In Year Admissions
Applicants applying for a place in year at The Leigh Academy to any year group need to apply direct to the academy. The process regarding children admitted via Fair Access Panel will be in line with Kent Local Authority’s published arrangements.
Waiting list for Year 7
The academy will operate a waiting list in all ability bands. Where in any year the academy receives more applications for places than there are places available a waiting list will operate until 31st December 2025. This will be maintained by the academy and it will be open to any parent/carer to ask for his or her child’s name to be placed on the waiting list, following an unsuccessful application. Any child for whom a place is requested on the waiting list will undertake the cognitive ability assessment, thus allowing each child to be placed in one of the ability bands. The lists will be ranked in line with the published oversubscription criteria and no further information can be considered. If a place becomes available the academy will offer it to the next applicant on the waiting list in the appropriate ability band. If there are no applicants in that band, we will offer the place to the next applicant in an adjacent band, and so on.
Looked After Children, previously Looked After Children, and those allocated a place in accordance with the local authority Fair Access Protocol will take precedence over those on the waiting list.
To remain on the waiting list for the following academic year, an in-year admission application must be submitted.
Appeals
Leigh Academies Trust, as the Admissions Authority, delegates the responsibility for the administration of appeals to the academy. Parents/Carers who wish to appeal the decision to refuse their child a place at the academy may appeal in writing to The Leigh Academy’s Admissions Coordinator. An independent panel will hear appeals in accordance with the School Standards and Framework Act 1988.
Post-16 Admissions
Post-16 is an inclusive community to which the academy welcomes applications from students from any background looking to study in a supportive and caring environment.
The Leigh Academy will publish specific criteria in relation to minimum entrance requirements for Post-16 based on GCSE grades. There will also be entry criteria for each of the courses available based on GCSE grades. If children meet the academic entry criteria for Post-16, but fail to meet specific course requirements they will be offered alternative courses, if available.
Before application of the oversubscription criteria, children with a Statement of Special Educational Need or Education, Health and Care Plan which names The Leigh Academy, Children in Local Authority Care and Previously Looked After Children, as long as the student meets the entry criteria and course requirements.
Post-16 Published Admission Number: 300 places.
In the event of oversubscription, the following criteria will be considered.
- Priority is given to students who have previously been attending The Leigh Academy;
- Applicants that have achieved all required grades for the subjects identified in their application form, as detailed in the 2025-2026 prospectus;
- Applicants who have attended the summer term induction days.
- Applicants who submitted applications before the 31st January 2025.
- Nearness of the applicant’s home. The academy will use the distance between the child’s
permanent home address and the main entrance of the academy building. We use the distance between the child’s permanent home address and the academy, measured in a straight line using the National Land and Property Gazetteer (NLPG) address point data. Distances are measured from a point defined as within the child’s home to a point defined as within the academy as specified by the NLPG. The same address point on the academy site is used for everybody. When we apply the distance criterion for the academy, these straight-line measurements are used to determine how close each applicant’s address is to the academy.
If 150 or more students from within The Leigh Academy meet the admissions’ criteria and wish to enter Year 12 of Post-16, no external applicants will be considered.
Where there are more external applicants for any available Post-16 places than places available, the oversubscription criteria above will be applied to determine who is admitted. There will be a right of appeal to an Independent Appeals Panel for unsuccessful applicants, whether they are internal or external applicants.
Post-16 Application Procedure
- All potential applicants are invited to attend Open Evenings in the autumn term prior to admission year.
- All applicants should complete an application on Applica by the 1st September 2025. https://theleighacademy.applicaa.com/1
- Applicants will be invited to discuss their curriculum choices with a senior member of staff to establish whether a suitable programme of study course is available to them.
- An offer will be made on the condition that the applicant achieves the examination grades required for enrolment onto each of the courses which they have chosen (These can be found within the Post-16 Prospectus)
- Applicants holding conditional offers will be invited to attend an Induction day in the summer term.
- Where candidates have achieved the required grades enrolment will take place in August following publication of the GCSE results.
- Application forms will be available at the open evenings and can be found on the academy website.
Students who wish to apply for The Leigh Academy Post-16 should apply to the academy directly.