THE body appointed to run the new Great Western Park Academy in Didcot has published its proposed admissions criteria.

Oxfordshire County Council has appointed GEMS Education to run the primary school for the large development outside Didcot.

About 3,300 new homes are set to be built at the Great Western Park development by 2026, creating a need for new school places. Government guidelines dictate that new schools must be either academies or free schools which means local councils have less control over them.

The new school at Great Western Park, which will admit 60 children a year, is expected to open in September 2015.

In its first year there will be 30 places made available in reception and 15 in both year 1 and year 2. Each following year the school will admit two reception classes.

If there are cases of oversubscription GEMS has said that places will be given first to children who are in public care, then to those children who have a sibling living at the same address who already attends the school and finally to those children whose home is nearest the school in straight line distance.

In the case of there being an identical result for two or more applicants in this last criteria a place will be allocated by random allocation. Members of the public can comment on this proposed admissions criteria before it is approved by the county council by visiting consultations.oxfordshire.gov.uk by September 8.

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