ST MARY’S CHURCH OF ENGLAND

Admissions

SUMMER OPEN MORNING - FRIDAY 7TH JUNE 9:30am - 11am

We are holding an open morning for parent of children due to start school in September 2025 on Friday 7th June. Please contact the School Office to book in.

Where do our children come from?

Children come to St Mary's from a wide area surrounding Frensham.  Historically pupils' addresses have been in Frensham, Lower Bourne, Boundstone, Wrecclesham, South Farnham, Tilford, Churt, Badshot Lea and Headley Down.  We would be delighted to show you around our school, please make an appointment with the school office to come and meet our Headteacher Miss Allan and the children. 

Each year we take in children from many nursery schools, playgroups and day-care facilities and liaise with new pupils' key workers before they start school. 

There has recently been an increase in available school places at Reception level in the South Farnham area so we anticipate being able to allocate places to children from a wide geographical spread around the school. 

Where do our children go to?
St Mary's is a named feeder school to both South Farnham School in Farnham and Waverley Abbey Church of England Junior School at Tilford and the majority of our children transition to these schools.  A few move to the independent sector and we have sent children to Aldro, Amesbury, Edgeborough, Frensham Heights and St Edmunds in recent years. 

Admissions Policy
Governors of Aided schools are responsible in law for the admission of pupils.

Education legislation provides that parents must be given the chance to express their preference for a school. The governors must comply with that expressed preference unless there are insufficient places available. For these reasons, the Governing Body of St Mary’s has framed an Admissions Policy. The policy is subject to review from time to time.

Some of the key information from our Admissions Policy is outlined below. For more information, definitions of terminology, and other notes, please read the full policy.

Click here to access the full Admissions Policy for 2025

Click here to access the Supplementary Information Form for 2025

Click here to access the full Admissions Policy for 2024

Click here to access the Supplementary Information Form for 2024

Admission Numbers
As a voluntary aided school, the governors are the Admission Authority and have agreed a Published Admission Number (PAN) of 30 for each year group with the Local Authority.

Start Dates
Children begin school in the September after their fourth birthday.  Parents have the right to defer entry until the term after the child has reached statutory school age. Parents should consult with the headteacher if they are considering deferring entry or full time entry. Parents may request that their child takes up their place part-time until the child reaches compulsory school age, i.e. the term after their fifth birthday.

Summer born children: Should your child attain statutory school age between April 1st and August 31st and you do not wish your child to start school within that academic year, a separate application would need to be made at the appropriate time. Parents can seek places outside of their child's normal age group.  Decisions will be made on the basis of the circumstances of each case.

Forms to complete
In order to apply for a place it is necessary to complete two forms: 

1. Surrey Local Authority (LA) Admissions Form 
   returned to LA in electronic or hard copy by the closing date:  Application Form
   
   
2. St Mary’s School Supplementary Information Form (includes Priest/Clergy reference form)
   must be completed and returned to the school if you are applying under criteria 5 or 6 as shown below, (click here)

Information on Surrey County Council's admission process can be found online at:
https://www.surreycc.gov.uk/schools-and-learning/schools/admissions/primary-junior-and-infant/apply

Admissions Criteria
Applications will be assessed against the following admissions criteria:

1. Looked after and previously looked after children. 
   
   
2. Exceptional social/medical need.
   
   
3. Families living within the Ecclesiastical Parish of Frensham which, for guidance, includes the areas known as Peakfield, Millbridge, Shortfield, Lane End, Dockenfield, West End, Spreakley and Moons Hill, (click here for a copy of this map). For families relocating to the area, evidence of exchange of contract or of a properly constituted rental agreement is accepted as proof of evidence.
   
   
4. Siblings of current pupils, i.e. the child will have a brother or sister attending St. Mary’s School, Frensham at the date of application.
   
   
5. Children who have a sibling who previously attended St Mary’s School. Please complete the school’s Supplementary Form if this criteria is applicable.
   
   
6. Children who live outside the Ecclesiastical Parish boundary but whose parents are regular worshippers, (see policy for definition), at the church of St. Mary the Virgin, Frensham or The Good Shepherd, Dockenfield. Please complete the school’s Supplementary Form if this criteria is applicable.
   
   

   In the event that during the period specified for attendance at worship, the church has been closed for public worship and has not provided alternative premises for that worship, the requirements of these [admissions] arrangements in relation to attendance, will only apply to the period when the church or alternative premises have been available for public worship.

7. Children whose parents wish them to attend this church school.

Should the school be over subscribed in any criteria, places will be allocated according to distance. The distance is measured in a straight line from the address point of the pupil’s house, as set by Ordnance Survey, to the playground school gate available for pupils’ use, (see full policy for further details). 

Map of Parish Boundary
Please click here to view the map of the Parish of Frensham and Dockenfield.