We are proud to offer bursaries to students who show a natural aptitude and passion for the Arts.

The criteria will be applied to children in each band, including the bursary band, in the order set out below:

Criteria and method for allocating places

Lambeth Council, as the admission authority for all Lambeth community schools, will comply, wherever possible, with parents/carer’s wishes where they have expressed a preference for a particular school. Nevertheless, if there are more applications than places available the published arrangements and criteria will be used to determine who can be offered. 

Children with a Statement of Special Educational Needs/Education Health Care Plan that name The Norwood School will, by law, be offered a place first. All applicants will be placed in one of seven bands - bursary, five ability bands and a band for those without a test score.

Ability banding

All children applying for admission to The Norwood School in Year 7 will be required to take 3 tests: a Verbal Reasoning test, a Numeracy test and a Non Verbal Reasoning test. The children who have taken the test will receive first priority and be considered for a place at The Norwood School before those who have not taken the test. In cases of continued oversubscription after the full allocation of places, a place will only become available to a child who has not taken the test once all other children remaining on the oversubscription waiting list for places (that have sat the test) have been offered a place.

Where the school is over-subscribed, the school’s admissions authority will use their admission criteria to determine the order (rank) in which applicants will be offered places.

Children who are eligible for a bursary place will have their names placed in the school’s bursary band. All applicants will be placed in one of seven bands - bursary, five ability bands and a band for those without a test score.

The proposed School Admissions Code had various changes, most notably regarding previously Looked After Children (PLAC) from outside of the UK.  We understand that the new Code was due to receive parliamentary approval in June. As such schools will need to change their admissions policy for 2022/23 entry to include the update. Because this is a Code change, consultation is not required.

Below is the wording as stated in the new Code:

A 'looked after child' or a child who was previously looked after but immediately after being looked after became subject to an adoption, child arrangements, or special guardianship order [90] including those who appear [to the admission authority] to have been in state care outside of England and ceased to be in state care as a result of being adopted. A looked after child is a child 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 the definition in Section 22(1) of the Children Act 1989).

[90] An adoption order is an order under the Adoption Act 1976 (see Section 12 adoption orders) and children who were adopted under the Adoption and Children Act 2002 (see Section 46 adoption orders). A ‘child arrangements order’ is an order settling the arrangements to be made as to the person with whom the child is to live under Section 8 of the Children Act 1989 as amended by Section 14 of the Children and Families Act 2014. Section 14A of the Children Act 1989 defines a ‘special guardianship order’ as an order appointing one or more individuals to be a child’s special guardian (or special guardians).

You can apply for a place by using our online SIF form.