Admissions
Admission Information for Year 7 Students
Below is important information on the admissions processes for students moving into Year 7. If you are interested in applying for a place at Guilsborough Academy for a child in a different year group, please refer to our In-Year Admissions page.
applying for a secondary school place

The following letter from West Northamptonshire Council has information about how to apply for a secondary place at Guilsborough Academy.
There is more information about applying for secondary school places on the West Northamptonshire Council website here
- Application portals open on 10 September 2025
- New application deadlines for September 2026 admissions close at Midnight on 31 October 2025 (secondary schools)
- National Offer Day (Secondary) – 2 March 2026
Transition Programme for Year 6 Students and Parents/Carers
There is a comprehensive programme of events to allow parents/carers and students to experience Guilsborough; from our open evening in October each year to our transition events throughout the year. There is a close liaison with Year 6 students at our partner primary schools and some examples of our transition programme are:
- All Year 6 students are invited to spend 2 days at Guilsborough Academy
- A Parent Induction Evening is arranged in the summer term
- There are opportunities for students to visit the school for a variety of activities throughout the year
- During the summer term, Guilsborough Academy staff visit each school and talk to students
- Copies of our newsletters are available on our website here

For parents/carers of students who are joining the school from outside the catchment area, full information will be provided along with opportunities for your child to take part in our transition activities.
Allocation of Secondary School Places
Our Pupil Admission Number is 238 in year 7.
Places are allocated in the following order:
Places will first be allocated to children who have an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) that names the school as offering the appropriate provision and then, if there are more applications for places than there are places available, priority will be given in the following order:
- Looked after and all previously looked after children.
- Children of staff at the school, in either or both of the following circumstances:
- Where the member of staff has been employed by Guilsborough Academy for one or more years at the time which the application for admission to the school is made, and/or
- Where the member of staff is recruited to fill a vacant post for which there is a demonstrable skills shortage.
For the purposes of these arrangements, a staff member is defined as a permanent full or part-time member of teaching or non-teaching staff employed directly by the school or Trust. The child must be living for at least part of the week with the staff member to be eligible to be considered under this criterion.
- Children who live in the civil parishes of Arthingworth, Clay Coton, Clipston, Cold Ashby, Cottesbrooke, Creaton, Crick, East Farndon, East Haddon, Elkington, Great Oxendon, Guilsborough, Haselbech, Holdenby, Hollowell (including Teeton), Kelmarsh, Lilbourne, Long Buckby (including Buckby Wharf), Marston Trussel (including Hothorpe and Thorpe Lubenham), Naseby, Ravensthorpe (including Coton), Sibbertoft, Spratton, Stanford, Sulby, Thornby, Watford, Welford, West Haddon, Winwick and Yelvertoft.
- Children with a brother or sister at the school who is expected to remain on roll at the time of admission of the child.
- Pupils attending the designated contributory primary schools and continuing in attendance until the final offer of places is made: Clipston Endowed VC Primary School, Crick Primary School, East Haddon CE Primary School, Guilsborough CE Primary School, Long Buckby Junior School, Maidwell Primary School, Naseby CE Primary School, Spratton CE Primary School, Welford, Sibbertoft and Sulby Endowed School, West Haddon Endowed Primary School, Yelvertoft Primary School
- Other children.
Twins or other multiple births.
In the case of twins or other multiple births from the same household, if, when applying the oversubscription criteria, one twin or multiple birth is offered a place and the other is not, then a place will be offered to the other twin or multiple birth sibling above the Published Admission Number of 238. If the qualifying sibling withdraws, then the second place (or places) will be forfeited.
If the admission number is exceeded within any criterion, priority will be given to those who live closest to the school. Distances are measured on a straight line basis from the address point of the child’s home address to the address point of the school using WNC’s Geographical Information System. Each address has a unique address point established by the most valuable elements from the National Land and Property Gazetteer (NPLG), Ordnance Survey Master Map, Royal Mail Postal Address File and The Valuation Office Agency. The address point for a property does not change.
If two or more applications cannot otherwise be separated and there is only one place available, a random allocation process will be used to determine who should be allocated the place. This will be carried out by someone independent of the school.
Please note - Parents of students living beyond our designated area will be responsible for arranging transport to and from Guilsborough Academy. There is no capacity on fare-paying buses on contract to the LA.
'Out of Cohort' Transfers
Guilsborough Academy would expect the vast majority of pupils to remain within their normal age group throughout their Academy career. 'Out of Cohort' transfers are only likely to apply in exceptional circumstances where the specific needs of individual pupils require such an arrangement and only with agreement of Local Authority.
Late admission to Primary School
When a child starts at infant of primary school later than normal because of parental wishes they would normally be expected to join their chronological age group.
Admissions Policy
Policies can be found here
Other Years New Admissions
If parents are applying to gain a place for their child in any year group other than Year 7, that is oversubscribed, they should initially contact the Local Authority for information and an application pack. Information and an online application form is available on the West Northamptonshire Council website here. An application pack can also be requested via email to admissions@westnorthants.gov.uk or in writing from:
School Admissions Team
West Northamptonshire Council
One Angel Square
Angel Street
Northampton
NN1 1ED
Tel: 0300 126 7000
Move school during the school year (in-year) | West Northamptonshire Council (westnorthants.gov.uk)
Visit our In-Year Admissions page for more information.
Disabled Students
In accordance with the Equality Act 2010 and the SEND 2014 Code of Practice, Guilsborough Academy’s policy ensures that:
- Disabled students will not be treated less favourably, without justification, than their non-disabled peers
- Reasonable adjustments are made to ensure students who are disabled are not put at a substantial disadvantage in comparison to pupils who are not disabled
- A long-term Accessibility Action Plan is produced
- Regular risk assessments are carried out for disabled students
Transport to and from Guilsborough Academy
Students in Years 7 to 11 who live in the Guilsborough Academy designated catchment area and are more than 2.5 miles from the Academy, qualify for a free bus pass provided by the Local Authority.
Sixth form students may purchase bus passes directly from the LA, currently priced at £600 per annum (A discount is available for students who are on free school meals).
Parents of students living outside the Guilsborough Academy designated area are responsible for arranging transport to and from Academy.
Please visit our Transport page for more information