Close

Admissions Policy Update

Date Published:
Friday 04 October 2024

Today we have released revised admissions policies for September 2025 entry to Gosforth Junior High, Great Park Academy, Gosforth Academy and Jesmond Park Academy. These are now available on the schools’ websites.

Changes have been made following a small number of parental complaints to the School’s Adjudicator earlier this year, regarding the admissions process for September 2024. In particular, parents raised concerns regarding the fairness and legality of the Group’s admissions process.

The Schools’ Adjudicator subsequently completed a review of the Group’s admissions processes in the four academies and submitted reports, which included any changes which needed to be made, at the end of September.

The Schools’ Adjudicator reports confirmed that our admissions procedures are lawful and fair but highlighted the need for us to revise our policies to ensure greater transparency and clarity, especially regarding how our oversubscription criteria are applied.

We take the Schools’ Adjudicator's ruling very seriously and accept all the recommendations. We have sought legal support to ensure that our revised admissions policies are now easy to understand and transparent, whilst continuing to comply with all regulations.

We recognise and understand the frustration and concern that the lack of clarity in the admissions policies has caused, and on behalf of the Gosforth Group, I would like to apologise to those affected and thank parents for their patience whilst these changes have been made. 

We remain committed to providing equal opportunities for all families who wish to apply for a place in our academies. We will ensure that a consultation with parents on any proposed changes to the admissions policies for September 2026 will begin after the closure of the September 2025 admissions window.

Parents of children who have already completed their application for September 2025 will be notified by Newcastle City Council of the change in policy and sent further information as to how to make changes to their application if required.

Dr Alexandra Thorp, CEO Gosforth Group.