Summary of proposed changes

Overview

We have been consulting on proposed school admission arrangements for community and voluntary controlled schools for September 2026.

We have also undertaken the consultation procedures on behalf of those voluntary aided, foundation and academy schools who have requested the Local Authority act in this capacity.

This is in accordance with the School Standards and Framework Act 1998 (the Act) (as amended by the Education Act 2002), implementing Regulations and the School Admissions Code.

The proposals for September 2026 can be found at Proposed school admissions arrangements 2026 - 2027.

Alternatively, a hard copy is available for inspection from the School Admissions, at South Shields Town Hall.

Community and voluntary controlled schools

There are changes to the primary catchment area to reflect the following schools conversion to an academy:

Dunn Street Primary School - The area previously designated to Dunn Street Primary has been assimilated into the Jarrow Cross Primary School catchment area.
Marine Park Primary School - The area previously designated to Marine Park Primary has been assimilated into the Hadrian Primary School catchment area.
Whitburn Primary School - The area previously designated to Whitburn Primary has been assimilated into the Marsden Primary School catchment area.
Fellgate Primary School - The area previously designated to Fellgate Primary School has been assimilated into the Hedworthfield Primary School catchment area.

There are currently no further known academy conversions planned.

All interested parties will be notified of any proposed conversions, and catchment areas will be updated accordingly.

Harton Academy

The following is proposed to be added to the oversubscription criteria:

Staff who have been recruited or work at the academy / trust where the flowing criteria applies:

where the member of staff has been employed at the school for two or more years at the time at which the application for admission to the school is made; and / or
the member of staff is recruited to fill a vacant post at the school for which there is a demonstrable skill shortage.

Whitburn Church of England Academy

Amendments to the Sixth Form Admissions Policy only have been proposed.

'For a programme of study consisting of A-Level's only' and 'For a programme of study consisting of A-Levels's and vocational courses':

Students who do not achieve a Level 4 in English and / or Maths may be offered a place if they meet the requirements to study other courses, but they would have to re-take English and / or Maths GCSE. With English being a requirement for almost all of our courses, a student who does not achieve a Level 4 in English is highly unlikely to gain a place in Sixth Form.

Fellgate Primary School

The following is proposed to be added to the oversubscription criteria:

Siblings of pupils

For the purpose of this policy, "sibling" is defined as any brother or sister related by blood or marriage and any fostered or adopted siblings.
Where oversubscribed, priority will be given to children whose siblings are currently at the school or who attended the school within the last three years.

Children of staff

Where oversubscribed, priority will be given to children for whom staff members have parental responsibility, where the staff member has been employed by the school for two or more years at the time at which the application was made, and / or where the member of staff has been recruited to fill a vacant post where there is a demonstrable skill shortage.
Trustees, and governors of the school, are included in the staff criteria with regard to admissions for children.

Tell us your views

The consultation period ran from Monday 11 November until Sunday 22nd December, and has now ended.

You can also view this information in document format.