Timetable for middle, high and secondary schools

Y4 parents and Y8 parents need to apply for their child’s place at either Middle or High School.  The application process is now open.

 

Thursday 12 September 2019	Application process opens  Online Admissions Portal  can be accessed here (All parents need to register on the portal as a new user) – (for late applications see below) leaflet on how to apply
Thursday 31 October 2019	Closing date for all applications to be received by the Local Authority
Monday 2 March 2020	National Offer Day.  E-mails sent to those parents who applied online and who requested to be informed by email. Parents who applied on a paper form will have a letter sent out to them today
Monday 16 March 2020	Deadline for parents to refuse the school place.
Monday 23 March 2020	Any places that become available are allocated in criteria order (on time applicants)
Friday 17 April 2020	All remaining places allocated on a first come first serve basis
Thursday 31 December 2020	No waiting lists held by the Local Authority after this date.

 

FAQS
Frequently asked questions about school admissions (entry years) in Northumberland

Q. How do I apply for my child’s school place?
A. From 12 September 2019 (Middle, High, Secondary) and 1st November 2019 (Reception)
onwards you can apply for your child’s school place online at www.northtyneside.gov.uk. If
you have any difficulties in applying please note that the Citizen Portal only works with
Windows Explorer Version 10 and above, or Chrome, or Firefox or on mobile devices. If you
are having difficulties please make sure your device has the most up to date version If you
do not have access to a computer you can complete a paper application which is available
on the School Admissions website.

Q. How important is it for me to ensure my application is received by the deadline?
A. Very important. If you don’t make an on-time application, there is a risk that all available
places in your preferred school will be taken and your child will be offered a place at an
alternative school. You must tell us why your application is late. We will consider your
reasons and if they are exceptional we may consider your application along with those
received on time.

Q. Do I have a right to a place at the school of my choice for my child?
A. No. Parents do not have an absolute right to choose the school they want for their child.
Parents have a right to state a preference for a school and the Local Authority and other
admission authorities have a duty to comply with that preference.

Q. How can I assess the likelihood of securing a place for my child?
A. From the school’s admission policy – available in the ‘School Admissions Handbook’ you
will be able to work out how high up the list of admission criteria your child will be. You can
find information about the number of children the school can admit in September, as well as
the number of children admitted within each admission category last year. However, you
must treat the information about previous years with some caution because circumstances
can change from year to year. For example, if a new housing development opens in the
catchment area of a small First or Primary School, it may affect the number of catchment
and out of catchment applicants the school can admit.

Q. Will my child be guaranteed a place in the catchment area school?
A. The Local Authority or admission authority cannot guarantee places in any school. If you
apply to your catchment school the chances are usually high that you will be offered a place,
but this cannot be guaranteed. Changes in the pattern of parents’ preferences and changes
in local population may mean that some schools will be oversubscribed from within their
catchment area.

Q. How do I find out the catchment area school for my address?
A. By logging onto

http://northumberland.maps.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=8aa658f92b2a4237834519c4330fc07c
Please note that your child’s permanent address determines your catchment school and it is
this address which must be used on the application form.

Q. Will my child be guaranteed a place in a school that their older sibling already
attends?
A. The Local Authority or admission authority cannot guarantee places in any school,
especially if you want your children attend a school that is not your catchment school.

Q. My child lives at different addresses during the week. Which address do I use when
applying?
A. When considering your application the admission authority will use the parental home
residence of the Parent/Carer who receives the child benefit or child tax credit. If the address
on your application form is not your child’s normal address, you must provide a child
arrangement order issued by a court if you wish that address to be considered. Admission
authorities will not accept any other arrangements e.g. where parents delegate parental
responsibility to a grandparent or other family member unless you have court documentation
that supports their living arrangements.

Q. What if I move house after the deadline?
A. If you move into a particular schools catchment area and do not notify us by 9 January
2019 for Middle and High School applications and 1 March 2019 for First and Primary
applications, your new address will not be considered before the ‘offer day’. If you move or
send evidence after 9 January and 1 March it will not be possible to process your child’s
application using your new address because the allocation process will have already started.
However, please let us know because we can send your allocation letter with the offer of a
school place to your new address.

Q. What if I move into rented property?
A. You must have a rental agreement of 12 months or more or ends in the Autumn Term in
2020 (31 December 2020). We will require proof of your new address i.e. rental agreement
and copy of council tax statement. Please note we will not accept tenancy agreements for a
sixth month period.

Q. Can the offer of a place be withdrawn?
A. The Admission Authority reserves the right to withdraw places in certain circumstances
i.e. where a parent uses fraudulent or intentionally misleading information such as a false
address.

Q. Will medical, childcare arrangements or social reasons be considered?
A. Where a school is oversubscribed places are allocated according to the published
oversubscription criteria which may not take into account individual reasons.

Q. I live outside of Northumberland and want to apply for a Northumberland school
which form do I use?
A. You must apply to your home Local Authority. This is the Authority where you pay your
council tax. Your home Local Authority will pass your information to us securely using a
government approved secure computer system. We will treat your request in the same way
as applications from Northumberland residents. However, we will not offer you another
Northumberland school if we cannot offer you a place in one of your preferred school(s).

Q. What happens if I do not apply?
A. Your child will be allocated a place at your catchment area school if a vacancy exists, or
at the nearest appropriate school with a vacancy.

Q. What happens if I want to change my school preferences after the deadline?
A. You cannot change your preference(s) without a genuine reason i.e. you have moved
address. You should send us a copy of your council tax statement to confirm you are
residing at your new address.

Q. What happens if I want to change my preferences after ‘Offer Day?’
A. Parents can have a maximum of 4 preferences including schools in and outside
Northumberland. If you are not happy with the school you have been offered and want to
apply for a school that was not on your original application you must complete a new
application. Amended preferences will overwrite your initial application. Therefore if you wish
to retain any of your original preferences they must be included in your new application.

Q. How is the distance measured?
A. In a straight line from a single fixed central point of the home address (including flats) to
the central point of the school using the Local Land and Property Gazetteer and the
Council’s Geographical Information System (GIS/ONE).

Q. My child has a cousin attending the school I am applying for. Will this be
considered as a sibling link?
A. No a sibling link is an older brother or sister residing at the same address (including
adoptive siblings, half siblings, step siblings, and long term fostered children).

Q. My child already attends the school nursery, will I be automatically allocated a
place in Reception?
A. No, you still need to apply. Being in the nursery does not guarantee a place.

Dear Parents & Carers,

I hope this communication finds you well.  It has been a very busy few weeks at Dr Thomlinson CofE Middle School.

First of all a huge thank you to all the pupils who helped out at our Dr Thomlinson Open Evening on September 27th.  I really enjoyed the evening and I thought that, with the great help of all our students, the school was at its very best.

Lots of our children were showing their very best as our school sporting fixtures began in earnest.  Well done to our U13 Netball team v Dukes Secondary School (Away). Our team lost 0 – 2 but they were always in the game and could be considered unlucky to leave with nothing to show for their hard work.  Well done to Skye who was the player of the game.

0-2 was also the unlucky score for our U11 Girls Football v Whittingham (Home) who lost 0 – 2 on the evening of our open evening, September 27th.  Player of the Game was Lara.

Monday September 30th saw our U11 Boys football play NCEA at home.  Despite taking the lead three times with goals from Archie, Dr Thomlinson could not hold onto the lead for any length of time and the more experienced visitors showed admirable resilience to come out 3-6 winners.

Thursday 3rd October saw our Year 7 and 8 Boys Rugby team play at Kingston Park in a rugby festival.  The team won v Norham; drew v Marden Bridge; lost v Duchess and Newminster Middle School. Our player of the competition was Thomas.

It takes resilience to run at long distances and 24 children competed from Years 5 and 6 on Tuesday 8th October at the Northumberland Schools Athletics Association Cross-Country Championships at Gateshead Stadium.  Well done to George who qualified for the Inter-Counties Cross Country Championships.

Wednesday 9th October saw our U13 Boys football team play very well with a final result that did not do justice to our performance –  Dr Thomlinson’s 1 Ponteland High 5. Our goal scorer was Luke with Man of the Match – Thomas.

October 14th saw our Boys U11 Football team play Cragside Primary School at home.  Despite goals from Wilf and Cameron (Cameron’s goal being a speculative drive from outside the area), Cragside narrowly edged a very close game 2-4.

On Tuesday, 15th October our KS3 Girls Rugby team took part in a competition at Kingston Park, Newcastle.  The team beat Duchess; drew with Blyth Academy and narrowly lost to Ponteland. The team were ably captained by Amelie with Cerys being the team’s stand out player during the afternoon.

Dr Thomlinson Boys U13 Football team were involved in a very close game on Wednesday, 16th October.  With Isaac being outstanding in defence, our team fell to a narrow 1-0 defeat against Tweedmouth.

A more successful campaign was waged by our U1 Girl’s 7 a’side football team on Thursday 17th October.  Victorious in their group beating NCEA; Newminster and Bothal, the Girl’s team progressed to the final of the competition via a penalty shoot-out victory in the sem-final.  Our team couldn’t quite seize the trophy – losing 0-1 to Bede but everyone in the team played very well with Lara being our player of the tournament.

On the same day our Yr 5 and Yr 6 Mixed Tag Rugby teams participated in a tournament at Ponteland Rugby Club.  Our Yr 5’s won their 2nd place play-off and our Yr 6’s – whilst not progressing from their group – did defeat Newminster.  Well done to Luke in Yr 5 and Archie in Yr 6 for their notable performances.

 

Harvest Festival

Our final week of this half term sees our school celebrate Harvest on Wednesday, 23rd October.  Our Harvest Festival starts at 2:45pm in the main hall with parents & carers very welcome to attend.  Children are very welcome to donate canned food which will be collected and donated to the Alnwick Food Bank.

 

Wednesday 23rd October is The Friends of Dr T’s Movie Night

Children are invited to attend this exciting Movie Night.  Children will stay after school to watch Toy Story 4 whilst enjoying a Hot Dog and snacks.  Sweets are on sale for 50p per bag. If you wish to attend please return the reply slip by Tuesday, October 22nd.

 

Charity Fund Raising

Our two half term Charity Fundraising Events were our Macmillan Coffee Morning and our Give Racism The Red Card Non Uniform Day.  We raised £355.23 and £176 respectively. Thanks for your generosity for these very worthy causes.

 

Curriculum Consultation Evening – November 6th 6pm

The school is amending the way it reports on Attitude to Learning.  Parents & Carers are invited to attend a consultation meeting on the changes on November 6th at 6pm

 

Half Term

Please remember that school will close for half term on Friday, October 25th at 3:30pm.  Monday, 4th November is a school inset day and school will reopen on Tuesday, November 5th.

 

Well done to the following Thomlinson Outstanding Pupil Award Winners

 

Week beginning – Sept 16th

5T – Emma

5H – Megan

6O – Sasha

6M – Lucy

7L – Daniel

7I – Eilidh

8N – Thomas

8S – Jasmine

 

Week beginning – Sept 23rd

5T – Will

5H – Wilf

6O – Ryan

6M – Dan & Heather

7L – Cerys

7I – William

8N – Logan

8S – Joe

 

Week beginning Sept 30th

5T – Nieve

5H – Esme

6O – Kai

6M – Elliott

7L – Molly

7I – Julia

8N – Skye

8S – Ben

 

Week beginning Oct 7th

5T – Fran

5H – Grace

6O – Demi

6M – Alexander

7L – Molly

7I – Taylor

8N – Amelie

8S – Thomas

 

Well done to Luke & Will who won our Mathemagician of the Week Awards

 

Take care,

 

Liam

Headteacher

Our Harvest Festival will take place on Wednesday 23 October 2019 at 2.45 pm.  Parents and carers are warmly invited to attend.

 

During this week we are asking students to donate tinned food for our festival (in particular tea bags, coffee, sugar, cereal, pasta, pasta sauce, tinned tomatoes, tinned vegetables, tinned fish, tinned meat, rice pudding, biscuits and snack bars).  No fresh fruit or vegetables please.

 

The gathered produce will be donated to Alnwick Food Bank.

The Trust is pleased to announce that Stobhillgate First School launched a consultation on 7th October to join the Three Rivers Learning Trust. This is a positive step in the further development of the Trust and we look forward to the consultation responses. If the proposal is supported then Stobhillgate would aim to join the Trust on the 1st April 2020. The consultation documents are available on the school website for anyone wishing to engage with the process. There will be a drop-in session which will be attended by the Stobhillgate Headteacher and Governors and representatives of The Three Rivers Learning Trust at 5.30pm in Stobhillgate First School on Tuesday 15th October.

The aim of this session is to hear views on the proposal and answer any questions. This consultation will close on Monday 4th November at 5pm.