Academy Admissions
Admissions Officer
Admissions Officer
Harris Academy Purley
Kendra Hall Road
South Croydon
CR2 6DT
0208 681 1141 (choose option 4)
admissions@harrispurley.org.uk
Open Evening took place on Thursday 19th September 2024. The next Open Evening will be in September 2025.
Open Mornings took place on Wednesday 25th and Thursday 26th September 2024. You will need to make a reservation through our Admissions team, as places are limited.
Sixth Form Open Evening took place on Thursday 17th October 2024.
Year 7 Applications
The Academy has an admission number of 180 in Year 7 for September.
For admissions into the next year’s Year 7, parents and carers are required to complete an online application form (known as the “Common Application Form” - CAF) which can be found at eadmissions.org.uk. No applications direct to the Academy can be accepted.
Parents are strongly advised to read carefully the full Academy Admissions Policy and information and advice from the local authority. The main points to remember are:
- You must submit an application form to your Local Education Authority by 31st October. A place at any secondary school can only be offered if an application has been received.
- Think carefully about the order in which you place your chosen schools on the form. You should enter your most preferred school first on the list. Please remember to use our full name: Harris Academy Purley. There are over 50 Harris Academies across London, so entries of “Harris Academy” are invalid and therefore, ignored.
- You will be invited to a Testing Day in December (see calendar). This will involve a non-verbal reasoning test to place applicants in ability bands. A set number of places are allocated to each band to ensure a mixed ability intake.
- Be sure to include at least 3 different schools on your preference form.
National Offer Day for secondary schools will be in the first week of March. The local authority will notify you of the school where your child has been offered a place. If you are happy with the offer, you MUST ACCEPT this place by logging onto http://www.eadmissions.org.uk/ If you are unable to do this please contact the Admissions Department at the Academy to inform them of your decision.
If you are unhappy that you did not receive an offer of a school place at Harris Academy Purley, you have the right to lodge an independent appeal with us. This must be done by the deadline shown below. Please complete the appeals form, linked at the bottom of this webpage.
Key Year 7 Dates
|
31st October |
CAF forms returned to home Local Authority |
|
13th December* |
Harris Federation Testing Day |
|
31st December |
Waiting lists closed and replaced by casual admissions waiting lists. You will need to re-apply as a Casual Admission if you are still waiting at this point |
|
1st March* |
National Offer Day (Local Authorities inform families of their application outcomes) |
|
15th March* |
The deadline for you to accept or decline your offer |
|
28th March* |
Appeals Deadline (appeals must be received by the academy no later than 16:00) |
|
18th April |
Appeal Hearings |
|
Friday 4th July |
Student Induction Day 09:30 to 14:30 |
|
Friday 4th July |
Parent Induction Afternoon 14:00 to 14:30 |
*Date is subject to change
Admissions Arrangements 2024-25
The Governing Body of Harris Academy Purley met on 26th February 2021 to review and consider the responses of the admissions consultation for all intakes after 2022-23. After careful consideration, the Governing Body have agreed to determine the arrangements. These can be found below.
Distance information
The table below shows the farthest distance a student, who was offered a place, lived from the academy. The farthest distance under the 'nearness rule' was 7.9 miles. This also took the 'siblings rule' into account. The farthest distance a student without a sibling at the academy lived was 5.5 miles.
| Band | Distance from academy |
|---|---|
| 1 | 3.913 miles |
| 2 | 3.476 miles |
| 3 | 7.909 miles |
| 4 | 3.397 miles |
| 5 | 5.538 miles |
| 6 | 2.783 miles |
| 7 | 2.99 miles |
| 8 | 3.19 miles |
| 9 | 2.976 miles |
In-year applications
If you are looking for a place at Harris Academy Purley because you have recently moved into the area, or your child is at another secondary school and you feel that a change of school would benefit his/her education and/or general well-being, you are entitled to apply for a school place.
Since September 2013, the law allows you to apply directly for an in-year admission to Harris Academy Purley. Please note that there is no guarantee that a place will be immediately available, but you can request to go on our waiting lists and you have the right of appeal if you are ever refused a place.
Please complete the form on the link below to apply for a place at Harris Academy Purley. Please note this is for secondary school students aged 11-16. Sixth Form students should apply via the Harris Federation Sixth Form website.
If you have any questions please contact the Admissions Department at the Academy by email on admissions@harrispurley.org.uk
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Will my child be offered a place at Harris Academy Purley?
A: Our Academy is oversubscribed. More people apply than we have places to offer. Applicants are placed on a waiting list and will be offered a place in accordance with our over subscription criteria set out in the Determined Admissions Arrangements at the bottom of this page. You will be notified once a place becomes available for your son or daughter.
Q: When does testing take place?
A: Testing is arranged in the second week of December. Test results are not given out, as they are not graded 'pass' or 'fail'. The result will put your child into an ability band. A predetermined number of students are chosen from each band to ensure an even spread of abilities for each in-take. Please see our Fair Banding Test document at the bottom of the page for more information.
Q: Can I apply for Access Arrangements for Testing Day?
A: You can apply for access arrangements by completing the form here. You will need to inform us of any SEND requirements your child has.
Sixth Form applications
Admissions into our sixth form should be made through the Harris Federation Sixth Form website.
Each Harris academy with a sixth form will hold their own open event. Harris Academy Purley will hold an Open Evening in September; allowing prospective students an opportunity to see the facilities and courses on offer at this campus.
Please check our website in August for exact dates for all of our open events.
For parents/carers who wish to appeal
Parent(s) wishing to appeal against the Academy’s decision on admissions, for any year group, should complete an Appeal Form (available from the bottom of the page) stating the reason for the appeal based on the published Admissions Criteria.
If you are unable to access the form and you wish to appeal, you must contact the Admissions Department who will send you an Appeals Form to complete.
Completed forms should be sent to the Clerk to the Appeal Panel at:
Harris Academy Purley
Kendra Hall Road
South Croydon
CR2 6DT
Completed Appeal Forms for Year 7 must be received by the Academy by the closing date shown on the table above.
The appeals will be heard in private by an Independent Appeal Panel. The Clerk to the Appeal Panel will make an appointment within a reasonable time. Appeals may be made in English or the Parents’/Carers’ first language.
- Only one appeal per application is allowed.
- Appeals could be conducted in person or via Teams.
- Appeals lodged after these dates will be heard within 40 days of the appeal deadline or 30 school days of being lodged, whichever is the later date.
- Appellants will be sent notification of their appeal hearing at least 10 clear school days in advance of the hearing.
- Appellants will be sent a copy of the school's case at least seven clear working days in advance of the hearing.
The appeal hearing
The Academy will arrange for an Independent Appeals Panel to consider the Academy's reasons for refusal and your reasons for wanting to attend the Academy.
The Panel will consist of 3 people (2 will have education experience and one will be an independent person with no education experience).
The Panel will consider the case put forward by you and the Academy. They must consider the admission arrangements for the Academy and the reasons why you want to attend this particular school. The Panel must exercise its discretion by balancing the weight of your argument (for wanting to attend) against the Academy’s reasons for refusal i.e. the prejudice that one more student would cause to the education of the students already offered and the Health and Safety of all the students already attending the Academy, also taking into account the Academy's published admission arrangements.
The decision of the Independent Appeals Panel is binding on the admissions authority and the parents.
