Dear Mr Attifield

Freedom of Information Request FR1278 - Ethnic minority admissions to NSB

Thank you for your Freedom of Information request dated 16^th April 2009. Your request has been dealt with under the Freedom of Information Act.

Your request is detailed below in italics.

My original request was date on 15/4/09 to Northampton Borough council who have told me that it is the County council which holds this information.

Our Response

I have been supplied the following information in response to your Freedom of Information request from Children and Young People Service which reads:-

As A Foundation School, Northampton School for Boys is its own Admission authority. The County Council is not directly responsible for admissions to this school.

Northamptonshire School for Boys should be able to supply the information requested.

In an effort to assist you we have however extracted the Admission Criteria (2009 intake) for NSB below:-

“Admission criteria (2009 intake)  

Children with a statement of special educational need will be admitted to the school where the school - after consultation with the Local Authority - has been named on the statement as appropriate provision.

If over subscribed, the following criteria will be used.

(i). Boys in care of Local Authority (Looked After children)

(ii). Aptitude - 10% of places are awarded to boys with a demonstrated particular aptitude for Music and/or Technology, approximately half in each specialism

(iii). The remaining places are allocated using a system of Norm Referenced Banding. ALL applicants to the school will take the same common ability test. The test will be used to place applicants into five equal sized ability bands. An equal number of applicants will be selected fairly from each band using, in order, the following criteria:

a) Sibling Link - where an elder brother/sister will still be on roll at the school when the applicant is admitted in September
b) Fair allocation - the remaining places in each band will be allocated by an approved process by an independent third party

Note: in accordance with the Code of Practice, the 10% Aptitude places will be allocated before banding is applied. The children in care and statemented children will be included in the bands. They will be allocated places from the bands first. Criterion 3a will be applied, followed by 3b. Selection by criterion 3b will be in line with the explanatory notes in the full policy. The number admitted from each band will be equal.

The full admissions policy is available on the school website and in the school prospectus”

The disclosure to you of the enclosed information does not give you a right to reproduce or publish such information without the express permission of the County Council or any other owners of the copyright therein.

If you are unhappy with my response, you can ask the Council to review it. To do this you write to the address below:

Paul Edwards

Head of Business Intelligence and Performance

Northamptonshire County Council

PO Box 93

County Hall

Northampton

NN1 1AN

If our internal review does not resolve the issue to your complete satisfaction, you have the right to apply to the information Commissioner for a decision at the following address:

Information Commissioner

Wycliffe House

Water Lane

Wilmslow

Cheshire

SK9 5AF

Or, if you have any complaints in respect of your information request please complete the on-line comments form that can be found at www.northamptonshire.gov.uk, along with a full set of guidance.

Yours sincerely

Miss Rubertine Carmen Allen

Freedom of Information / Data Protection Officer

Legal and Democratic Services

Northamptonshire County Council

Please ask for: Rubertine Carmen Allen

Tel: 01604 236328

Our ref: FR1278/RCA

Your ref:

Date: 15^th May 2009

Freedom of Information & Data Protection

Northamptonshire County Council

County Hall, PO BOX 136

NORTHAMPTONSHIRE NN1 1AT

w. www.northamptonshire.gov.uk

t. 01604 236328

f. 01604 237004

e. [email address]