Mulberry Stepney Green Maths, Computing & Science College

Admission

Mulberry Stepney Green Computing, Maths and Science College is proud to be part of the Mulberry Schools Trust family. The school joined the Trust on 1 September. Mulberry Stepney Green Maths, Computing and Science college is one of the top performing schools within Tower Hamlets. Current attainment levels are well above the national level. From September, Stepney Green became a mixed school, ensuring the very best of education for boys and girls, from Year 7 to Year 13.

As we are based in Tower Hamlets, we use the local authority’s admissions process.

Tower Hamlets Local Authority seeks to operate an admissions system that provides equal and fair opportunities to all applicants. This includes having due regard to children living in areas where there are limited options in applying for a local school place.

Should you wish to visit the school before applying, please contact us using the details on the contact form. We look forward to welcoming you.

Oversubscription Criteria

Firstly, children with a statement of special educational need naming the school must be offered a place, unless there are particular reasons why the Local Authority is unable to so. The place will be provided in the appropriate band. (Note 1: Parents of children with statements of special educational need should note that Tower Hamlets LA seeks to ensure that pupils with statements do not, at secondary transfer time, become unduly concentrated in a few schools. Experience indicates that this can compromise the efficient education of children and the efficient use of resources. This means that if any particular school receives a large number of applications for pupils with statements, some of these may be refused. All applications for pupils with statements will be considered by the Special Educational Needs Panel.).

A quarter of the total places available at these schools are allocated to each of the four bands. If any of these are oversubscribed in any band, the admission criteria below will be used (in descending order of priority) to allocate places:

• Children looked after by the local authority including adopted children who were previously looked after and children who leave care under a special guardianship or residence order; (Confirmation of a child’s looked after status will be required.)
• Pupils who have a strong medical or social reason to attend the school applied to. This can include the parents’, carers’ or other family members’ medical conditions and the family’s social needs. Parents must complete the relevant section on the application form and attach medical and/or social reports from a suitable professional (e.g. a doctor or social worker) to support the application. (Applications under this category are considered by the Primary to Secondary Transfer Committee, comprising a Headteacher, a senior member of the Attendance and Welfare Service and a medical professional. The Committee will decide whether the application should be given priority under this category.).
• Pupils living nearest the school who are the first born of their sex in the case of a single sex school, or the eldest child in the case of a mixed school. The number of children admitted under this category will reflect 25% of the intake of the school in each band.
• Pupils who have a brother or sister at the school at the time of admission. (Sibling refers to brother or sister, half brother or sister, adopted brother or sister, step brother or sister, or the child of the parent/carer’s partner, and in every case, the child should be living in the same family unit at the same address. The address used should be the one that the child usually lives at and attends school from.).
• Pupils who live nearest to the school by the shortest walking route. (Home to school distances will be measured by the shortest walking route from the home address to the nearest available pupil entrance in constant use to the school, using a computerised digitised map.).
• In categories 3, 4 and 5 above, a higher priority will be given to pupils who live in the priority geographical areas of south Wapping or west Bethnal Green applying to one of the designated schools. (The south Wapping priority area is the area south of Cable Street and Royal Mint Street, west of Butcher Row, north of the Thames and east of Mansell Street and Tower Bridge Approach. Children living in this area will have priority for admission to the designated schools, which are Mulberry and Stepney Green. The west Bethnal Green priority area is the area south of Quaker Street, west of Brick Lane, north of Whitechapel High Street and east of Middlesex Street. Children living in this area will have priority for admission to the designated school, which is Swanlea)

Exceptional Medical or Social Reasons

Where there is a very strong medical or social reason for attending a particular school priority may be given for admission. Parents must complete the relevant section on the transfer form and attach medical and/or social reports signed by a doctor or social worker to the form. These reports must be received by the closing date on 31st October 2014. The application will be considered by the Primary / Secondary Transfer Committee.

Confirmation of Address

Parents may be required to provide acceptable independent proof of their child’s address. They must make sure that the application form they complete is accurate and to contact Pupil Admissions or tell their child’s headteacher if there are relevant changes after it is submitted. Places may be withdrawn if false information is entered on the application form. Parents who do not provide evidence of their child’s address as requested, or provide conflicting or inconclusive information, may have the place withdrawn, even if it has already been accepted. When parents live separately, the address used should be the one that their child usually lives at and attends school from. If a child lives equally with both parents at different addresses, it is the parents responsibility to make this clear on the application form. Parents may be asked to provide acceptable proof that this is the case.

Siblings in the same year group transferring

Where two or more siblings are in the same year group (e.g. twins), and it is the parent’s wish that the siblings should attend the same school, if one sibling can be offered a place at a school, the other will automatically be offered so as not to separate them.

Changing Preferences

Parents and carers may not change their preferences unless there is exceptional and genuine reasons for doing so, for example, change of address. Requests to change preferences must be made in writing giving the full reasons.

In-year Admissions

Most school admissions take place when children start reception class or when they transfer from primary to secondary school at the age of 11.

In-year admissions take place outside the normal admission period like for children who have recently moved to the area and do not have a school place.

Sixth Form admissions

Please see the website’s section on the Sixth Form for details of how to apply. If you wish to view our excellent sixth form facilities, do not hesitate to contact us.