Admission arrangements

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Consultation on the 2027/28 admission arrangements for community schools
Co-ordinated Admissions Schemes
Admission arrangements for community and voluntary-controlled schools 2026/27
Admission arrangements for academy, foundation, trust and voluntary-aided schools 2026/27
Admission arrangements for community and voluntary-controlled schools 2025/26
Admission arrangements for academy, foundation, trust and voluntary-aided schools 2025/26

Cornwall Council is the admission authority for:

community schools; and
voluntary-controlled schools.

This means it must set the admission arrangements for these schools.

All other schools are responsible for setting and publishing their own admission arrangements. These schools are:

academies
free schools
foundation schools
trust schools
voluntary-aided schools

The academy trust or governing body is the admission authority for the school. They must publish their arrangements on their school website.

Cornwall Council also sets a Co-ordinated Admissions Scheme annually. The Council must co-ordinate applications to all state-funded schools in Cornwall. The schemes set out the processes that the Council will follow.

Consultation on the 2027/28 admission arrangements for community schools

1 December 2025 to 31 January 2026

The consultation relates to:

Burraton Community Primary School
St Stephens (Saltash) Community Primary School and Nursery
Torpoint Infant and Nursery School
Richard Lander School

Background

Cornwall Council is the ‘admission authority’ for community and voluntary-controlled schools which means it is responsible for admissions to those schools. The Council must agree the admission arrangements for those schools annually by 28 February. This includes:

the oversubscription criteria (how places will be allocated if there are more applications than places available); and
the published admission number or PAN (the number of pupils that the school will admit in the first year of entry).

About this consultation

Cornwall Council is undertaking statutory consultation, in line with the Admissions Code 2021, on proposed changes to the admission arrangements for four of its community schools for 2027/28 admissions.

We are consulting with parents and carers, schools and other relevant parties.

Comments are invited on the proposed changes which are explained below.

There is an Easy Read guide to the consultation here:

Easy Read Guide to the Admission Arrangements Consultation

Richard Lander School – proposed changes to feeder schools and designated area

Cornwall Council has not yet been informed about a decision by Ministers on whether or not the proposed new secondary school in Perranporth is approved for opening.

If it is agreed that the new school can go ahead and if the planned opening is September 2027, the changes explained below are proposed to the admission arrangements for Richard Lander School - see ‘Version A’ draft arrangements:

2027-28 Admission Arrangements - Richard Lander School (Version A)

The admission arrangements for the new Perranporth school will be decided by the Academy Trust which will be running the school: Truro and Penwith Academy Trust.

If the new school does not open in September 2027, the current admission arrangements for Richard Lander School will not be changed for 2027/28 - see ‘Version B’ draft arrangements:

2027-28 Admission Arrangements - Richard Lander School (Version B)

Proposed changes to the admission arrangements for Richard Lander School if the new Perranporth secondary school is approved for opening in September 2027:

Designated area

Cornwall Council has divided Cornwall into geographical areas called ‘designated areas’ (sometimes called ‘catchment areas’) which are each served by a specific school or schools. Designated areas assist Cornwall Council in ensuring there are enough school places and are also used to determine entitlement to home to school travel assistance. The designated school for an address may not always be the one nearest to that address.

Not all schools include ‘living in the designated area’ as a priority in their oversubscription criteria (the criteria that will be used to decide who should be allocated places when there are more applications than places available). However, entitlement to travel assistance to all schools is determined by Cornwall Council with regard to whether the school is in the designated area for a child’s home address or is their nearest school.

Cornwall Council has redefined the designated areas to reflect the creation of the new school in Perranporth. Part of the areas previously defined for Richard Lander School and the two Newquay secondary schools (Treviglas Academy and Newquay Tretherras) now form the area defined for the new Perranporth School, meaning the areas for those schools are smaller.

The newly defined designated area for Richard Lander School has been included in the proposed admission arrangements for 2027/28 because it is proposed that children living in the school’s designated area should continue to be given priority in the school’s oversubscription criteria. This is the list used to decide which children should be allocated a place when there are more applications than places available.

Feeder schools

In the current admission arrangements for Richard Lander School, priority is given to children attending a listed primary school, at number 6 on the oversubscription list.

It is proposed that this be reduced to the following schools, in light of the new school opening and the proposed change to the designated area:

Bosvigo School
Chacewater School
Shortlanesend School
Threemilestone School
Truro Learning Academy

It is proposed that the following schools will no longer be included in the list:

Blackwater School
Mithian School
Mount Hawke Academy
St Agnes Academy

However, the proposed admission arrangements for the new Perranporth School include a priority for children attending a primary school in the designated area, which would include these four schools.

Applying for a place at Richard Lander School

You will still be able to apply for a place at Richard Lander School even if you do not live in the newly-defined designated area and/or your child does not attend a feeder school. You can list any school as a preferred school, however there would be no guarantee of a place. In the event that there are more applications than places available, the school’s oversubscription criteria would be applied. You would be strongly advised to check your eligibility for Home to School Travel Assistance for any school you are considering listing as a preference.

Burraton, St Stephens (Saltash) and Torpoint Infant and Nursery schools – proposed changes to published admission numbers

A reduction in the published admission numbers (PANs) for three primary schools is proposed. This is the number of pupils that the school will admit up to in reception for 2027 entry.

The draft admission arrangements can be viewed here:

2027-28 Admission Arrangements - Community and VC Primary Schools

The reductions are proposed to support more efficient class organisation and planning. The PANs have been considered in light of forecasted pupil numbers. The Local Authority is confident that there will still be sufficient available school places for all children who need a school place. These PAN changes will ensure overall capacity more closely reflects the number of children in the local area who will need a school place in the short/medium term.

If PANs are set too high, schools are at risk of not being able to fill all of the places and therefore ending up having to run and staff appropriately classes that are not full, potentially leading to significant financial challenges. The PAN reductions would help to ensure that classes are more full and therefore that the schools are in a more stable position financially, whilst also ensuring that the Local Authority continues to have sufficient reception places available in the town to meet demand.

Proposed reductions in PAN for entry to Reception:

Burraton Community Primary School – reduction from 45 to 30
St Stephens (Saltash) Community Primary School and Nursery – reduction from 45 to 30
Torpoint Infant and Nursery School - reduction from 60 to 40

No other changes are proposed to the arrangements for the community and voluntary-controlled primary schools.

How to have your say

You can share your views on our Let’s Talk page before the deadline of 31 January 2026:
Let's Talk Survey

You can also let us know your views in writing:

using our contact form at the bottom of this page; or
by post: School Admissions Team, Cornwall Council, West 3, New County Hall, Truro, TR1 3AY

If you need help with letting us know your views or you need this information in a different format, please contact us.

What happens next

Following the consultation Cornwall Council will decide whether or not to go ahead with the proposed changes and will agree the final arrangements by the deadline of 28 February 2026. The arrangements will then be published on this page.

Co-ordinated Admissions Schemes

The Co-ordinated Admissions Schemes describe the way that Cornwall Council manages the allocation of places at schools in Cornwall and how it lets parents and carers know which school place their child has been allocated.

Schemes for the normal admissions round (starting school, transferring to Year 7 in a secondary school and from an infant to a junior school):

Co-ordinated Admissions Scheme 2026/27

Co-ordinated Admissions Scheme 2025/26

Schemes for in-year admissions:

Co-ordinated In-year Admissions Scheme 2025/26