School Admissions

SECONDARY TRANSFER

Applications should be made through the standard unified secondary school application form or you can apply online here. If you do not live in Islington, you can still apply to Central Foundation using your home local authority’s form (i.e., the council to whom you pay your council tax).

Please note: There is no supplementary application form for Central Foundation Boys’ School.

Admissions Policies:

Admissions Policy 2023-24 (For in-year admissions 2023-2024)
Admissions Policy 2024-25 (For those who will be applying for a place in Year 7 in September 2024)
Admissions Policy 2025-26 (For those who will be applying for a place in Year 7 in September 2025)

IN-YEAR ADMISSIONS

Applications for in-year admissions are made directly through Islington Council. If more applications are received than there are places available then applications will be ranked in accordance with the oversubscription criteria. Following a banding test, applicants are placed on a waiting list which will be maintained by the school. The waiting list is ranked in the order of the oversubscription criteria, and not in the order in which the applications are first received.

To apply for a place at Central Foundation during an academic year:

In-year admissions

SIXTH FORM ADMISSIONS

The Published Admission Number for Year 12 and 13 is 150.

For further information relating to the Sixth Form admissions please click HERE.

Open Events

We will be holding our open events for students and their parents looking to apply for a place in Year 7 starting September 2025 in the autumn term 2024.

We will be delighted to welcome members of our local community who wish to visit the school.

All open events will be by online booking only.

Banding Test for Secondary Transfer 2025-26

All students applying for a place at Central Foundation Boys’ School are required to sit a banding test. Students are placed in one of four ability bands following a standardised assessment to ensure a balanced and mixed ability intake.

Applicants who fail to attend the banding test will be allocated to band 5 in line with the oversubscription criteria. Applicants in band 5 will be considered only after every applicant who did sit the test (regardless of score) has been offered a place.

Parents do not need to contact the school to book a banding test session. Banding test sessions for the next secondary transfer round, 2025-26, will be held in December 2024.

Distance Boundaries

The table below shows a break-down of furthest distance (in miles) from the School by which secondary transfer applicants were accepted under the distance criterion in recent years. Please note that this distance changes each year and the statistics should be used only as a guide. The statistics are based on data published on National Offer Day in March and the distance from the School by which applicants were accepted expands as the places are allocated from the waiting list.

Please note that in 2018, the School offered an additional 30 places in Year 7 so the distance from the School by which applicants were accepted expanded. The School also offered an additional 30 places in Year 7 in 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2022.

SEPTEMBER ENTRY	2021	2022	2023	2024
Band 1	1.298	1.24	1.26	1.43
Band 2	1.534	1.37	1.96	1.68
Band 3	2.277	1.68	2.44	1.66
Band 4	1.664	2.78	1.42	3.91

Appeals

You have the right to appeal the refusal of a place at any of the schools which you listed on your application form. You can appeal at any time during the school year. However, for September 2024 secondary transfer you need to lodge your appeal by 15^th April 2024 so that if your appeal is successful, your child can take up their place at the start of the academic year. An independent panel will hear your appeal. The panel will be made up of people who have experience in education and people without personal experience of school management or education provision. The panel’s decision is final.

How to appeal

Please complete the Appeal Form and submit it to the school with any relevant documents in support of your appeal (e.g. a letter from a professional such as GP).

What happens next

Your appeal will be considered by an independent panel, who must consider whether:

the admission arrangements for the school comply with the legal requirements of the School Admissions Code and Part 3 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998
the admission arrangements were correctly and impartially applied
the decision to refuse admission was unreasonable given the circumstances of the case

The panel must then decide whether the admission of additional children would prejudice the provision of efficient education or the efficient use of resources. The decision made by the appeals panel will not be influenced by the acceptance of a place at an alternative school.

Appeals for secondary transfer

Timetable for appeals for secondary transfer admission (11+) in September 2024:

1 March 2024: you’ll get an offer by email in the evening (from your local council)
15 April 2024: deadline for appeal forms to be submitted to the school
Appeal hearings to be held in the Summer Term (May 2024)
Applicants whose application was unsuccessful will have at least 20 school days from the date of notification that their application was unsuccessful to prepare and lodge their written appeal
Appellants will receive at least 10 school days’ notice of their appeal hearing
The appeal papers, including the submission from the appellant and the admissions authority will be sent by the clerk to the panel and parties involved at least 10 school days before the appeal hearing
Any additional evidence must be submitted by the appellant no later than 5 school days before the appeal hearing
Appellants will receive a decision letter within 5 school days of the hearing wherever possible

Please see below for more information about in-year admissions:

In-year admissions

Please contact us if you have any questions on 020 7253 3741 or email info@cfbs.islington.sch.uk.