Admissions
Students joining in September 2025
Valley Park School has a published admission number (PAN) of 240 students, to be admitted into Year 7 each year. Applications for places will be made in accordance with Kent local authority’s coordinated admission arrangements and will be made on the Secondary Common Application Form (SCAF), provided and administered by the Kent Local Authority. Please note that a Supplementary Application Form is only required if you are applying for a scholarship.
Admissions Process Timeline
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Timeline Secondary Admissions Year 7 2025 |
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National closing date for application forms |
Thursday 31 October 2024 |
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Final date for acceptance of on time changes to application details |
Thursday 12 December 2024 |
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Summary of applicant numbers sent to Secondary schools |
Thursday 17 December 2024 |
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Full applicant details sent to all Kent Secondary schools for ranking against their over-subscription criteria |
Monday 6 January 2025 |
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Ranked lists returned to KCC by all schools. Deadline for school to inform KCC of wish to offer in excess of PAN |
Friday 17 January 2025 |
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Secondary schools sent list of allocated pupils |
Monday 24 February 2025 |
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National offer day (emails sent after 4pm) |
Monday 3 March 2025 |
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Schools send out welcome letters no earlier than |
Wednesday 5 March 2025 |
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Deadline for late applications and waiting list requests to be included in KCC reallocation stage. Also the date by which places should be accepted or declined to schools |
Monday 17 March 2025 |
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Date KCC will send schools reallocation waiting lists for ranking against their over-subscription criteria |
Thursday 20 March 2025 |
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Schools to send their ranked reallocation waiting list and acceptance and refusals to KCC |
Thursday 27 March 2025 |
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Deadline for lodging appeals |
Monday 31 March 2025 |
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KCC to reallocate places that have become available from the schools waiting list. After this point schools will take back ownership of their waiting lists |
Monday 24 April 2025 |
In Year Admissions
If you are looking for a place at Valley Park School because you have recently moved into the area, or your child is at another secondary school and you feel that a change of school would benefit their education and/or general well being, you are entitled to apply for a school place.
Please contact the Admissions Team to request an In-Year Admissions Form or download a copy from our website. This form must be completed and returned to the Admissions Team.
The school will notify applicants of the outcome of their application in writing within 15 school days detailing any reason for refusal and information about the right to appeal.
Appeal Dates & Information
PLEASE READ THIS CAREFULLY
Appeal Dates & Information Academic year 2025/2026
If you have not been offered a place following an in-year application, the law entitles you to appeal to an Independent Appeal Panel. This panel is completely independent of the school and the Local Authority. In accordance with the 2022 School Admission Appeals Code Appeals, the admission authority and panels have elected for all admissions appeals to be held online.
If you wish to appeal, please complete your appeal online. Please do NOT use ANY other appeal form or send your form to your local authority. It is highly recommended that you download the explanatory booklet about appeals which you should read before you complete the appeal form.
You should include any evidence or supporting material with your appeal form (photos of your child will not be accepted). You MUST state the grounds of your appeal at the time you lodge your appeal form. Your appeal form will not be accepted unless you give the grounds of your appeal. You may appeal for more than one school, but a separate form must be completed for each school you wish to appeal a place at. If you are appealing for more than one child, a separate form must be completed for each child.
Please note that the online form will ask you to download two utility bills dated in the last THREE months. If you do not have access to a scanner, please take two photographs using a mobile phone and upload the photographic files.
Information about Secondary Transfer appeals will be posted on this website before 28 February 2026.
The timetable for ‘in-year’ appeals is as follows:
| Last day for lodging appeal forms | 20 School days after the decision letter informing you that you had not been offered a place. |
| Invitation letter giving details about your hearing will be sent by the Clerk to the Independent Appeal Panel | At least 10 school days before the hearing. This MAY be emailed.
All in-year appeals will be heard within 30 schooldays of the appeal form being lodged. |
| Closing date for any additional supporting evidence | FIVE school days before your hearing – by 4pm latest.You are advised that additional paperwork received on the day of the appeal hearing will not be taken into account. Please email files to clerk@educationappeals.com |
| Letter from the Clerk informing you of the decision of the independent appeal panel | Due to the high number of appeals, an email is sent a few working days after your hearing with the decision of the panel. This is followed up around 15 school days later with a letter outlining the panels’ reasons. |
The timetable for appeals for the Sixth Form is as follows:
| Last day for lodging appeal forms | 31 August 2025. For 6th form appeals only, the appeal form can be completed by a student or parent. |
| Invitation letter giving details about your hearing will be sent by the Clerk to the Independent Appeal Panel | In order to facilitate a hearing as soon as possible, an email will be sent at very short notice. However, if a student or parent wishes to have 10 school days notice, this needs to be indicated on the appeal form. |
| Date(s) of hearings | Please insert if known Or Late August/September 2025. |