Schools Admission Reference

Clergy References for Schools’ Admission

We are truly blessed in Wokingham and Bracknell to have many good schools around us, particularly, Church of England Schools.

Accessing a place in Faith-based Schools Is traditionally dependent on the family’s attendance of our Worship Services over the preceding 12 months and scored under the Admissions’ criteria.

Every school that has faith-based criteria will have their own requirements regarding church attendance and it may differ between schools. It is suggested that you review the prospective school’s own policy to understand the requirements needed. St Sebastian’s Church will follow the individual School’s Admission Policy.

It is worth noting that some Faith based schools are sadly oversubscribed or demand exceeds availability of spaces. Governing Bodies have therefore been exploring how to tackle this issue within their Admissions’ Policy scoring and priority of weighting for ranking. For example, in an Admissions’ Policy known to St Sebastian’s Church, a Faith based High School recently updated its attendance criteria period from 12 to 24 months to mitigate oversubscribing risk. This change has necessitated refreshing our Parish guidance in liaison with the local Area Clergy Deans of Sonning and Bracknell, and School Admissions’ Officer.

All Clergy Reference requests by the Incumbent will therefore respond to the latest faith-based criteria for Schools’ Admissions.

Schools Admission Parental Guidance Oct. 2023