Worthing school told its admissions arrangements must be updated after objections upheld

The decision, published on October 21, relates to the admissions for September 2027 at the school, which is part of the South Downs Education Trust.

The adjudicator upheld objections from West Sussex County Council’s Admissions Appeals Panel over two admission criteria.

One gave priority to children of staff employed on permanent contracts by the Trust, while another gave priority to children attending any school within the Trust.

The adjudicator found that the staff criterion was too broad and did not comply with the circumstances set out in the School Admissions Code, under which schools are permitted to give priority to staff members’ children.

The code says schools can give priority to staff who have worked at the school for at least two years when the application is made, or if staff have been recruited to fill a vacant post at the school for which there is a skill shortage.

It also says admission authorities must clearly explain how this priority will apply, including which groups of staff are eligible.

The decision by the adjudicator also said the Trust needed to name the specific ‘feeder’ schools covered by its policy rather than referring more generally to any school within the Trust.

Further concerns included the arrangements for admissions being determined too late, changes being made without required consultation and a lack of clarity over how it would deal with applications for children starting school outside their normal age group, or how the distance between a child’s home and the school would be measured.

The trust has been told to update its admissions arrangements by October 30 ahead of the October 31 deadline for secondary school applications.

The revised arrangements are intended to apply to applications for places starting in September 2027, before offers are made in March next year.

Pan Panayiotou, chief executive of South Downs Education Trust, said: “As a Trust, and Admissions Authority, we have been working with West Sussex County Council Admissions and the Adjudicator to make some minor adjustments to the Worthing High School Admission Policy for September 2027, regarding technicalities with the language used within the policy.

“The policy amendments are so that it is compliant with the Admissions code. We can confirm, as a Trust, that this will not have any impact on admissions for September 2027 or future admissions to Worthing High School and that the minimal changes suggested, have now been implemented and an amended policy has been shared with WSCC Admissions and all stakeholders at Worthing High School.

“The amended policy will go live on our website on or before the 30 October 2026.”