Consultations.
Consultation on Admissions Policy for September 2026
The Trustees of Holywell School are consulting on our Admissions Arrangements for 2025-26. We are proposing some changes to our policy in response to local changes and the Schools for the Future programme. In line with the ‘School Admissions Code’, we are launching a 6-week consultation. This consultation will run from 7th December 2023 to 18th January 2024. We are committed to ensuring our admissions arrangements continue to be open and fair, and we welcome your input as a valued member of our community.
The following amendments to our admissions arrangements have been proposed:
- Revised oversubscription criteria to reflect the change in student population as local schools transition to a Primary/Secondary model. In particular:
- Non-catchment siblings will have equal priority with catchment siblings (and highest priority after looked after and previously looked after children).
- Children living in the parish of Cranfield or attending Cranfield CoE Academy will be given higher priority than children living outside that area or attending other schools.
- Priority for church families will be limited to those living in the parishes of Marston Moreteyne, Lidlington or Wootton and the definition of Christian church has been updated.
- A new priority for children of staff members to support with recruitment and retention.
We have also taken the opportunity to update some of the technical provisions of the policy in order to remain compliant with the School Admissions Code 2021.
A full copy of our proposed admission arrangements can be viewed HERE.
You are invited to submit comments in writing about the proposal to the Governing Board by emailing our Clerk to the Governors: fhashim@holywellschool.co.uk on or before the closing date of 18th January 2024 (noon).
Paper copies are available on request from the school office: school@holywellschoool.co.uk.
Consultation on Change of Age Range for September 2026
This Consultation has now concluded.
The consultation was about converting Holywell School to a secondary school (Years 7 to 11) on the current site from 1st September 2026.
The Governing Board at Holywell School intends to submit an application to the Department for Education (DfE) to change the age range at Holywell. Prior to the application process, the DfE requires us to undertake a formal consultation with stakeholders.
Central Bedfordshire Council (CBC) conducted a ‘Have Your Say’ consultation which ran during Autumn 2022 (October 2022) and a Statutory Notice Consultation for maintained schools which ran from 12th May 2023 to 16th June 2023. These consultations proposed a transition from three-tier (lower/middle/upper) to two-tier (primary/secondary) in the Cranfield Cluster. This was approved at the Executive meeting on the 1st August 2023. Holywell School supported this conclusion and conducted a consultation to change the age range. This was conducted from 15th September 2023 to 16th October 2023. 55.2% of 105 respondents we supportive of the change. Central Bedfordshire Council decided to delay the programme by 1 year with the first transition year proposed as being September 2026. In line with advice from the Regional Commissioner’s Office, we were obliged to conduct a new consultation.
The four-week consultation period commenced on Monday 4th November 2024 and closed at noon on Monday 2nd December 2024.
Background Information to the Statutory Consultation was provided and consultees were asked to respond to a series of questions.
There were 70 responses.
The Governing Board is meeting soon to discuss the outcomes and the way forward.