Applying for a Reception Place for September 2024

We are delighted that you are considering applying for a Reception Place at our school for your child to join us from September 2024.
We are a bilingual (English and French) Church of England Primary school, in the centre of Harrow, that welcomes children and families of all faiths and none.

School admissions for children joining our Reception classes in September 2024 are now open and close on Monday 15th January 2024. We strongly recommend you complete your application by Friday 12th January 2024. There may not be the technical help available on the weekend if you can not get a local authority website to work.

You will receive more information from the local authority you live in during the summer of 2023.

Will you have Open Days so we can come and look round?

Our Open Days for families considering applying for a Reception Place joining us in September 2024 have now all taken place. If you would like to send your child to our school, but missed all of our open days please email [email protected] to see if we can arrange a visit for you.

How many places will be available?

60 places each year. In two classes of 30. Ash and Elm class are our two classes in Reception. All of our classes are named after types of trees.

How do I apply?

We are part of co-ordinated admissions. This means you need to put us as one of your preferences on the form sent to you by your local authority. This is generally online rather than a paper form.

The deadline for ontime admissions via your local authority is
15th January 2024.

If you are applying for a Reception Place at our school but don’t live in the London Borough of Harrow that’s fine, just add our school to the list you send to the local authority where you live. If you miss the deadline your child’s application will not be looked at until after all onetime applications have been allocated a space!

If you would like to apply for a Christian faith/foundation place (Church of England, Catholic, Methodist, Baptist, Lutheran, United Reform, Pentecostal etc) at St. Jérôme Church of England Bilingual School, we have 12 available each year, you MUST ALSO fill in our Supplementary Information Form and get this signed by your vicar, pastor, rector, priest etc and return it to our school by 15th January 2024.
You or your vicar/priest/rector/pastor can email the Supplementary Information Form to us at [email protected] or you can post it to us at Admissions Team, St. Jérôme Church of England Bilingual School, 120-138 Station Road, Harrow, Middlesex, HA1 2DJ.

COVID-19 and Christian faith/foundation places

Download the 2024 Supplementary Information form here

For more information about admissions download our Admissions Policy and Oversubscription Criteria here

What are your oversubscription criteria?

If we receive more applications than there are places, applications will be prioritised according to the following oversubscription criteria:

1. Children who are Looked After or Previously Looked After
2. Children whose parents are founders of St. Jérôme Church of England Bilingual School and who have been granted this provision by the Secretary of State for Education (applies to two families)
3. Children with a Sibling on roll at St Jérôme when they apply
4. This is a Church of England school and up to 12 places in each cohort are designated as Foundation places
   (i) Child and at least one parent or carer who worships regularly in an Anglican Church
   (ii) Child and at least one parent or carer who worships regularly in a church or chapel of another Christian denomination which is a member of Churches Together in Britain and Ireland and/or The Evangelical Alliance.
5.  The remaining places are designated as Open places and allocated to children who live closest to the school

What relationship do you consider a ‘sibling’?

‘Sibling’ refers to brother or sister, half brother or sister, adopted brother or sister, stepbrother or sister, foster brother or sister or the child of the parent/carer’s partner where the child for whom the place is sought is living in the same family unit at the same address as the sibling. A sibling relation does not apply when the child currently on roll (in the school) will leave the school before the sibling starts.

In relation to church attendance, how do you define ‘worships regularly’?

 ‘Regularly’ is defined as attendance by a child and parent/guardian/carer at a Church/Chapel at least twice a month for a minimum period of two years immediately before the date of application.

How will you calculate distance?

Distance is measured in a straight line using a computerised mapping system based on ordnance survey data. The measurement is taken from the address point for the home address to the centre point of the school site. We urge parents to remember that the ‘catchment area/admissions footprint’ from one year to another can alter greatly.

My child has special educational needs. Can I still apply?

Absolutely. If your child has a statement of special educational needs or an EHCP your child will be admitted to our school if St Jerome is the named school. If your child has special educational needs but no statement or ECHP you should apply using the usual process. If you would like to talk to someone about your child’s needs before you apply you can contact us at the school office. Call us on 020 3019 6363 or email [email protected]

My child does not speak French. Can we still apply?

Yes. There is no priority for French-speakers and the curriculum is designed for children who will be starting French for the first time as well as those who are already bilingual or have some knowledge of the French language.

We are not Christians. Can we still apply?

Absolutely. As a Church of England School our ethos underpins all of school life, however all aspects of the school day will be relevant and appropriate for all the children on the school roll. The values and ethics that underpin Church of England schools have a universal appeal and are supported by many families of different faiths and no faith. We welcome applicants from all backgrounds. We are delighted that our school community includes people of all backgrounds.

When will my child start school?

When your child starts school depends on when they were born, and we do appreciate this can be confusing. Please see our helpful chart below.

Deferred Entry in Reception Year

Parents can request that the date that their child is admitted to school is deferred until later in
the year in which they apply or until the term in which the child reaches compulsory school age. For Summer born children this is not beyond the end of the summer term.  Parents can also request that their child attends part-time until their child reaches compulsory school age.

Admissions outside normal year groups ‘outside cohort’

Parents may apply for their children to be admitted outside of their normal year group, or ‘cohort’, either in a lower or higher year group. This may be appropriate, for example, if the child is gifted and talented or has experienced problems such as ill health.

To apply for a child to be admitted out of cohort, parents should complete a school application as normal via the local authority and additionally complete a ‘Deferral Entry Request’ Form, available from your local authority, specifying St Jérôme Church of England Bilingual School. This form should be submitted to the local authority with any supporting evidence that demonstrates why it would be in your child’s best interests to be admitted out of cohort. Parental views, academic achievement, social and emotional development and, where relevant, medical views are examples of acceptable supporting evidence.

Requests to defer entry will only be accepted in exceptional cases.

Offers of places in a child’s correct chronological year group cannot be held until the following academic year. If deferred entry is agreed, parents will need to apply again in the following year to gain a place for their child.

Summer-Born Children

Summer-born children (those born between 1st April and 31st August) can legally be withheld from school until September 2024, which is the September following their fifth birthday. At this point, they will have missed a year of school, and will join a year group that is moving from Reception to Year 1. This would mean applying for a Year 1 place. Withholding summer- born children in this way is not generally recommended educationally.

If parents wish for their summer-born child to join the Reception class – instead of Year 1 – in September 2024, they must make a Deferred Entry request as above. This does not apply to children born in the autumn and spring as these children must legally be in school full-time in the term that starts after they turn five years old.

Out of Year Process

1. Enquiry received for admission of children outside their normal age group or summer-born application to be placed out of cohort. Parents are advised to complete an application for the correct cohort while the request is considered.
2. Parents must complete a Deferral Entry Request Application Form for St Jérôme Church of England Bilingual School. The form will require evidence to support the request by Monday 15 January 2024.
3. The Deferred Request Application will be sent by the Admissions Service to St Jérôme Church of England Bilingual School.
4. St Jérôme Church of England Bilingual School Governing Body which will decide whether to agree to the request or not.
5. St Jérôme Church of England Bilingual School will inform the Admissions Service of their decision.
6. For summer-born children applications, if St Jérôme Church of England Bilingual School’s Governing Body supports the request that entry to school is deferred, the parent will need to reapply for a place for the following year and the application will be processed in accordance with the co-ordination process.

I still have questions. Is there anyone that I can talk to about applying for a place?

Absolutely. You can contact our school office on 020 3019 6363, there is an answerphone if we are out of the office, or email us at [email protected].

We look forward to hearing from you.