Admissions

Pupil Admission Number
Our published pupil admission number (PAN) is 45.

Admission Timetable 2024-2025

By 28 February each year, the school will publish a timetable setting out how it will organise and hear admission appeals.

Deadline date for applications for Year 7 places in September 2025	15 January 2025
National Offers Day	16 April 2025
Deadline for accepting offers and deadline for parents/carers to lodge a written appeal	6 May 2025
Appeals held by Independent appeal panels	June to July 2025
Appeal decision letters to be sent	Within 5 working days from date of hearing wherever possible

Admission Appeals
Wakefield Council arranges our appeals and you can find the appeal form at School admission appeals - Wakefield Council.

For appeals, the following rules apply:
• Parents and carers will be given at least 20 school days from the date of notification that their application was unsuccessful to prepare and lodge a written appeal.
• You will receive at least 10 school days’ notice of the appeal hearing.
• The best time to send evidence is with your appeal form. If you are unable to do this, please send all evidence at least 7 school days before the hearing. If evidence is received after this time the Independent Appeals Panel will decide whether this evidence can be heard or not.
• The school will send its evidence to you at least 7 days before the hearing.
• Wherever possible a decision letter will be sent out to you within 5 school days of the hearing.

*School days are those days on which students are taught at the school. They do not include, for example, school holidays or weekends.

Children are admitted to school for full-time education in the September of the school year that they turn five years old. If you are interested in having your child admitted to Orchard Head at any stage of their schooling, you are warmly invited to make an appointment to come and see us, meet our Headteacher and look around.

The admission body for Orchard Head is Pontefract Academies Trust. The Trust follows the Wakefield M D Council Admission Policy in managing admissions. Admissions arrangements are administrated centrally by the Wakefield M D Council.

For further information, or to apply, please click here to access the Wakefield Council website.

If your child is older and is applying to join a later year, please contact the Admissions Team at Wakefield Council. You can email them at admissions@wakefield.gov.uk, call them on 01924 306 052 or write to County Hall, Bond Street, Wakefield WF1 2QL.

For further information please visit our Admissions Policy on our Policies page.