Each Manchester school has a set number of places for the school year starting in September. If the school has more applications than places, it uses its admission rules to decide who gets a place.
Some schools use the Council's rules described here. But others use their own rules. See how secondary school places are decided to find out which schools use which admission rules.
The Council's admission rules
If a school has more applications than places, we put children into one of the categories below. Places go to any ‘category 1’ applicants first, then to category 2 applicants, then category 3 and so on until there are no places left.
If there are more applications than places at a school, we use the distance from the school in each category to decide.
The categories are:
- Category 1 - Children who are, or who have been looked after by a local authority. Previously looked after children are children who were looked after but ceased to be so because they were adopted or became subject to a residence order or special guardianship order.
- Category 2 - Children with exceptional medical or social needs. See more about category 2.
- Category 3 - Children with a brother or sister at the school. See more about category 3.
- Category 4 - All other children.