The Education (Objections to Admission Arrangements) Regulations 1999

PART II REFERENCE OF OBJECTIONS BY PARENTS

Parents who are eligible to refer an objection

4.  For the purpose of section 90(2)(b), the description of parent who may refer an objection about admission arrangements under that subsection is an individual who–

(a) is the parent(1) of a child of compulsory school age receiving primary education; and

(b) is resident in the relevant area which applies for consultation under section 89(2)(b) about those admission arrangements(2).

Objections that may be referred by parents

5.—(1) For the purposes of section 90(2)(c), the description of objection that may be referred by a parent under that subsection is an objection about pre-existing selection arrangements.

(2) For the purpose of this regulation,

(a) “selection arrangements” means those arrangements (if any) in the admission arrangements determined for a school for a particular school year which make provision for the selection of pupils by ability or by aptitude within the meaning of section 99(5); and

(b) selection arrangements are to be regarded as pre-existing if they–

(i) continue from provision made by the admission arrangements for the school in question at the beginning of the 1997/98 school year and made by successive admission arrangements for the school since that time; and

(ii) depend solely for their lawfulness on section 100.

(3) For the purpose of paragraph (2)(b)(ii), selection arrangements are to be regarded as depending solely for their lawfulness on section 100 if they are not rendered lawful by virtue of section 99(1)(b) or (2)(c) (grammar schools or sixth forms), section 101 (pupil banding) or section 102 (aptitude for particular subjects).

Condition to be met before determination of objections by parents

6.—(1) The condition in paragraph (2) must be satisfied before the adjudicator or, as the case may be, the Secretary of State is required to determine an objection referred by a parent under section 90(2).

(2) The condition is that not less than ten parents who satisfy the requirement in regulation 4 have referred objections under section 90(2) (or one or more such objections jointly) which–

(a) are about the same admission arrangements; and

(b) raise the same or substantially the same issue.

(1)

See section 576 of the Education Act 1996 for the meaning of “parent”.

(2)

See section 89(3) for the meaning of “relevant area”.