Year 7 - 11
Welcome to our admissions information page
All admissions for years 7 to 11 at The Downs School are managed by West Berkshire Council and information and details of the application process are available on their website below:
ttps://info.westberks.gov.uk/secondaryadmissions From September 2018 the PAN (the number of students admitted to year 7) is 210.
Admission Arrangements Documents
The Admission Arrangements include an explanation of our over-subscription criteria and the West Berkshire Council appeals process.
Admissions Arrangements for 2023/24
Admissions Arrangments for 2024/25
Admissions Arrangments for 2025/26
Catchment Area
A change was made to our catchment area in September 2019 with the addition of Catchment Area 2. The Downs School catchment area is unique to The Downs School and, although in general the school catchment areas in West Berkshire border each other, this is not a rule that must be followed. Catchment Area 2 (labelled as Zone 2 on the 2019/20 catchment map) overlaps parts of the existing Kennet School and Trinity school catchment areas and children who live in these areas live in two secondary school catchment areas.
Primary Schools federated to The Downs School
The following primary schools are federated to The Downs School:
Basildon CofE Primary School
Beedon CofE Primary School
Compton CofE Primary School
Types of Application
First Point Entry: Moving from Primary School (Year 6) to Secondary School (Year 7)
All first point applications must be made to the Admissions Department of the county or borough in which a child lives. The Admissions Department concerned will send the child's details to West Berkshire's Admissions Team after the national closing date for secondary school applications. Details of West Berkshire's secondary school application process can be found in the secondary school admissions pages of their website via the following link:
https://info.westberks.gov.uk/secondaryadmissions
Residents of other local authorities will need to check the secondary school admissions information for their own authority. The majority of applications The Downs School receives from people outside of West Berkshire are from Oxfordshire. Details of their secondary school application process can be found via the following link:
Year 7 applications | Oxfordshire County Council
In-Year Transfers Years 7 to 11
Once a child has started secondary school, parents and carers can make an application for The Downs School at any time. This is known as an in-year transfer application. The Downs School is part of West Berkshire's Admissions' In-Year Co-ordination Scheme. This means that all in-year transfer applications for Years 7 to 11 should be made directly to West Berkshire's Admissions Department, regardless of where a child lives. Details on this process, including the application form itself can be found on the in-year places page in the school admissions section of West Berkshire's website via the following link:
https://info.westberks.gov.uk/inyearadmissions
In-Year Transfers between West Berkshire Schools
Where an application is received for a child to move between West Berkshire schools, the 2021 Admissions Code requires the Local Authority to notify both schools concerned and both schools to notify each other if there are any concerns if the child were to move. Both schools would then be expected to meet with the parents/carers to discuss the school move.
The Right to Appeal
Parents and carers have the right to appeal an admissions decision. The Downs School uses West Berkshire's Appeals Service to hear its appeals. Details about the appeals' process can be found on West Berkshire Council's website via the following link:
https://info.westberks.gov.uk/admissionappeals
Travel to school
Information about school transport can be found by clicking the link below.
Visit our School
Click for information about open evenings and mornings and tours of the school.
