Application Procedure

Applications for admission in Year 7 must be made direct to the Local Authority by the closing date published in the Secondary Education in Essex booklet. For further details visit: www.essex.gov.uk/admissions

Admission Appeals

If your child is not offered a place at our school, you can appeal against the decision. You need to make an appeal within 20 days of receiving the decision letter or email.

To find out more about appealing an admission decision, please visit the Local Authority website: www.essex.gov.uk/Admissions/Appeals

Over Subscription Criteria September 2026

When the Academy is oversubscribed, after the admission of students with an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) where the school is named, the following criteria will be applied in the order set out below to decide which students to admit.

A maximum of 120 allocations will be available and allocated within criteria 1 to 5.

1) Looked After Children and Previously Looked After Children. A looked after child is a child who is (a) in the care of a local authority, or (b) being provided with accommodation by a local authority in the exercise of their social services functions. Previously looked after children are children who ceased to be looked after because they were adopted or became subject to a child arrangements order or special guardianship order (see the definition in Section 22(1) of the Children Act 1989);

2) Where the child has a sibling* currently attending the academy at the time of application, unless the sibling is in the last year of the normal age-range of the school (i.e., Year 11). *A ‘sibling’ means a brother, sister, half brother or sister, adopted brother, adopted sister, stepbrother, stepsister or a child of a parent/carer of a child looked after living permanently at the same address from Monday to Friday.

3) Children** who live with parents, guardians or carers, who are employees of Bridge Academy Trust, provided that the employee has been employed by the Trust for a minimum of 2 years at the date of application for admissions. The Ongar Academy Admissions Policy 2026 – 27 Page 2 **A child is defined by birth or adoption, of a member of staff, or a child by birth or adoption, of a wife/husband/partner of a member of staff living at the member of staff’s home from Monday to Friday during term time; or a child for whom child benefit is paid to a member of staff.

4) Up to a maximum of 75 places will be allocated to students from the following group of primary schools: Ongar Primary School, Chipping Ongar Primary School and High Ongar Primary School.

5) Remaining applications – All applications received where applicants are not attending the named schools in criterion 4.

In the case of over-subscription within any of the above criteria, priority will be determined on the basis of straight-line distance from the school, those living closest having the highest priority. Straight line distances are calculated by the LA, as defined in the Secondary Education in Essex booklet. *When measuring distances, the home to school distance will be measured using a ‘straight line’ distance measurement provided by the Essex County Council software. Should two applicants have the same home to school distance, (not including multiple-birth siblings at the same address who would both be admitted) a random allocation would be made. This will be independently supervised.  Please also see our Admissions Policy 2026-2027

Please find details below for Admissions Arrangements and our Supplementary Information Form. 

Contacts

Essex County Council Admissions Team 

Email: admissions@essex.gov.uk

Tel: 0345 603 2200

Year 7 Admissions 

Ms S Botterell 

Email: communications@theongaracademy.org

Tel: 01277 500990

Mid Year Admissions (apply direct to School) 

Mrs J A Oates 

Email: communications@theongaracademy.org

Tel: 01277 500990

Mrs R Gilbert 

Deputy Headteacher 

Tel: 01277 500990