Admissions to schools in Suffolk for the 2027/2028 school year

The OSA considered SCC’s admission arrangements for the 2025/2026 school year and found that they did not fully conform with the School Admissions Code.

The OSA’s decision is binding on SCC and the admission arrangements for the 2025/2026 and 2026/2027 school years have been amended to comply with the Schools Adjudicator’s determination. We have now consulted on these amendments for the 2027/2028 school year.

The amendments which were proposed and have now been agreed are shown in blue text within the admission arrangements. They seek to add clarity to the policy itself and make it clearer for parents and carers to understand. They do not affect how school places have been and will continue to be offered, and to whom. The amendments include:

1. clarification on how applications would be prioritised within the sibling oversubscription criterion, if necessary.
2. additional information to help parents understand the process for seeking a school place outside of the normal age group.
3. clarification on admissions to a community school sixth form. 

SCC is responsible for setting the PAN for community and voluntary controlled schools. This is the number of school places that will be available at the school in its normal year of entry.

We are reducing the PAN of four schools for the 2027/2028 school year. This is due to pupil forecasts indicating a reduction in pupil numbers and in order to sustain the viability of the schools in the area, particularly given the Infant Class Size Regulations. We are required to consult to decrease a school’s PAN.

The full list of PANs can be found in the admission arrangements for community and voluntary controlled schools above.