To download a copy of the School Prospectus for Year 7 admissions, please click here. To view a digital copy of this prospectus, please follow this link.
The school operates a clear and transparent admissions policy in keeping with our statutory responsibilities. This is published in full below.
How to apply
To apply for a place, you must complete and return two separate forms by our published closing date: coming soon.
In order to make an application, you should complete the School's Supplementary Information Form (click here) and return it to the Governors' Admissions Panel via the school office, together with all other relevant paperwork required for your application.
You must also complete a Common Application Form issued by your Local Education Authority and return it to them as per their instructions, and by the date they require.
If you do not complete both of the forms described above and return them by the closing date, the Governing Body may be unable to consider your application fully and it is very unlikely that your son will get a place at the school.
A waiting list will be maintained in the order of the over subscription criteria until the end of the academic year. Late Applications for Secondary Transfer will only be considered if there are extenuating circumstances for the delay. All such applications will be considered by the Admissions Authority.
All unsuccessful applicants will be offered a right of appeal. Information on how to register an appeal will be available from the Admissions Officer from the beginning of the second week in March.
For further clarification on how to apply or to request hard copies of any documents, please contact us by phone or email.
Information on appeals 2012-13
If your schild was unsuccessful on thier application and you would like to appeal, please be aware of the following dates:
- Deadline for appeals to be lodged with the admissions officer 29th March
- Appeals to be heard on 29th and 30th May
- Any additional information must be received by the school marked for the attention of the clerk to the appeal panel by 3.30pm on 21st May
If you require any clarification on these matters, please contact Fran Kelly by email on fkelly@finchleycatholic.org.uk
Admissions Criteria
The Governing Body is the Admission Authority for the School. Boys will be admitted at the age of 11 without reference to ability or aptitude, in keeping with our Catholic and Comprehensive education principles. The number of intended admissions for September 2012 is 150, which is our Published Admission Number (PAN).
As a Catholic school, we aim to provide a Catholic education for all our students. Catholic doctrine and practice permeates every aspect of the school’s activities. It is essential that the Catholic character of the school’s education is fully supported by the families of the students in the school. All applicants are therefore expected to give their full, unreserved and positive support for the aims and ethos of the school.
Places will be awarded primarily to applicants who are practising Catholics, who reside in the London Borough of Barnet and its surrounding boroughs and who meet our religious criteria. Applications must be supported by:
The school is committed to taking its fair share of vulnerable children who are hard to place, in accordance with locally agreed protocols. Accordingly, outside the normal round of admissions, the Governing Body are empowered to give absolute priority to a child where admission is requested under any local protocol which carries the agreement of both the Governing Body and the Diocese for the current admission year. The Governing Body has this power even when admitting such a child would exceed the normal admission number.
Oversubscription criteria
Where the number of applications meeting the above criteria exceeds the intended number of admissions, places will be awarded using the criteria below, which will be applied in strict priority order.
Governors will give top priority within a category to a boy whose exceptional medical, social or pastoral needs justify a place at this school. Governors will require compelling written evidence from an appropriate professional (e.g. doctor, priest or social worker). This evidence must be submitted by the closing date for applications set out above.
The criteria are as follows:
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Catholic looked after male children (in the care of the local authority).
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Siblings of current Catholic students who are expected to be on roll when the applicant is due to start*. 'Catholic' means a member of a church that is in full communion with the See of Rome, including the Eastern Catholic Churches.
- Other practising Catholic boys. 'Practising Catholic' means a Catholic child from a practising Catholic family where this practice is verified by a reference from a Catholic priest in the standard format laid down by the Diocese.
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Other Catholic boys.
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Other looked after male children.
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Boys of other faiths or none.
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Any other applicants.
* A sibling is defined as a brother or sister, half-brother or half-sister, adopted brother or sister, stepbrother or stepsister, or the child of the parent/carer’s partner. Finchley Catholic High School insists the applicant and the sibling already on roll must be living “as part of the same family unit at the same address, Monday to Friday”.
In case of applications in any category exceeding the number of places available, places will be offered according to the proximity of the Catholic boy’s home to the front door of the school administrative building, measured by a straight line on a map. In the case of equal distance from the school or of more than one applicant from the same family applying for a remaining place, places will be offered by random allocation which will take place in the presence of an independent witness.
The admission of students with a statement of Special Education Need (SEN) is dealt with by a completely separate procedure. This procedure is integral to the making and maintaining of statements by the pupil’s home Local Education Authority. Details of this separate procedure are set out in the SEN Code of Practice.
Please note, the School is usually heavily over-subscribed and all places have, in recent years, been filled by boys meeting our Catholic criteria.
Applications for In-Year Admissions
Applications for In-Year Admissions are made in the same way as those made during the normal admissions round. If a place is available and there is no waiting list then the Local Authority will communicate the Governors' offer of a place to the family.
If more applications are received than there are places available then applications will be ranked by the Governing Body in accordance with the oversubscription criteria. If a place cannot be offered at this time then you may ask us for the reasons and you will be informed of your right to appeal. You will be offered the opportunity of being placed on a waiting list.
The waiting list will be maintained by the Governing Body in the order of the oversubscription criteria and not in the order in which the applications are received. Names are removed from the list at the end of each academic year. When a place becomes available the Governing Body will decide who is at the top of the list so that the LEA can inform the parent that the school is making an offer.
Applications for Years 8, 9, 10 and 11
Applications should be made directly to the Headteacher using the application form available from the school. Applicants are required to fulfil the entry requirements above and will be subject to the same over subscription criteria.
Sixth Form Applications
Details of the admissions policy for Sixth Form students, including female students applying from other secondary schools, can be seen in this section, along with the Sixth Form prospectus and application form.