Are you looking to join
Southfield?

Key dates and deadlines for secondary school admissions

• Prepare and apply
  10 September 2025 onwards
  Visit schools on open evenings and read school prospectuses
  Read schools' oversubscription admission criteria

• Deadline for applying
  31 October 2025 - closing date for applications
  Submit your preference form to NNC by the closing date
  Send any supplementary information forms (SIFs) if applicable to the preferred school(s) in support of your application(s)

• Offers made
  2 March 2026
  Offer emails sent or view your offer online (online applications only)
  Offer letters posted to people who sent in a paper application by the deadline

• Next steps
  2 March 2026 onwards

North Northamptonshire Council (NNC) will assume you have accepted the allocated place unless you let them know.

Apply to join a waiting list by sending NNC an email or a letter.

NNC will not withdraw a school place solely because you are dissatisfied and decline the offer. NNC must have notice that your child has a school place elsewhere. This is because NNC have a duty to ensure that all children are receiving their education entitlement.

Additional rounds of applications (late applications)
Late applications are dealt with in rounds. Each round has a cut off for applications to be included in it.

The allocation process can take a number of weeks, depending on how many applications are received.

Emails will be sent to all late applicants who apply online. NNC will only inform parents of children on a waiting list if they are able to offer a place. Otherwise, their child's name will remain on the waiting list for the next round.

There is no need to contact NNC after completing a late application form - NNC will contact you once an offer has been made.

Cut off dates for applications to be included in each round:

Round 1
7 April 2026 (process starts 20 April 2026 and can take up to 4 weeks)

Round 2
22 May 2026 (process starts 1 June 2026 and can take up to 3 weeks)

Round 3
26 June 2026 (process starts 6 July 2026 and can take up to 3 weeks)

Applications received by NNC after 27 June 2026 will be processed as and when received between July and August 2026. Any applications received after then will be processed according to their in-year policy from the end of August 2026.

https://www.northnorthants.gov.uk/secondary-school-places/key-dates-and-deadlines-secondary-school-admissions

Pupils with an EHC Plan which names the school as appropriate provision will be admitted regardless of the number of applications received. In the event of applications exceeding available places, the following criteria are used to determine successful applications:

1. Children in public care (Looked After Children) or previously in public care (Previously Looked After Children).
2. Those girls who have a sibling attending the school at the time of application and who will be continuing at the school for the next academic year.
3. Those girls who have a parent who is a member of staff at Southfield School.
4. Up to a maximum of 30% of intake places will be allocated to girls living outside the boundaries of the Kettering Schools Area, with the closest having priority.
5. The remaining places will be allocated to girls living within the boundaries of the Kettering Schools Area, with the closest having preference.

N.B.

1. In the event of oversubscription within criterion 1, 2 or 3 places will be allocated on the basis of proximity with those living closest having priority. Distances are measured using NCC GIS.
2. Sibling refers to:
   1. a sister or brother sharing the same parents,
   2. a half-sister or half-brother where two children share one parent,
   3. a step-sister or step-brother where two children are related by a parent’s marriage or partnership,
   4. adopted children,
   5. a brother or sister must be living at the same address at the time the application is made.
3. The figure of 30% in criterion 4 will include children allocated a place under criteria 1, 2 and 3 and those with an EHC Plan.
4. Any places remaining after allocation under criterion 4 will be included in the allocation of places under criterion 5.
5. Should there be insufficient applications remaining under criterion 5 to reach the administration number of 168, any remaining places will be allocated to previously unsuccessful applicants under criterion 4 from outside the Kettering Schools Area, with the closest having priority.
6. Where a child lives between two parents, the qualifying address will be where the child sleeps the majority of the school week.
7. Distance will be measured on a straight line basis from the school to the home address using a geographical information system.
8. The ‘Kettering Schools area’ means the town of Kettering and the associated towns and villages for Kettering Secondary Schools and Montsaye Academy. The associated towns and villages are: Ashley, Barford, Barton Seagrave, Brampton Ash, Braybrooke, Broughton, Burton Latimer, Cranford, Cransley, Desborough, Dingley, Geddington, Glendon, Grafton Underwood, Great Cransley, Harrington, Little Oakley, Loddington, Mawsley, Newton-in-the-Willows, Orton, Pipewell, Pytchley, Rothwell, Rushton, Stoke Albany, Sutton Bassett, Thorpe Malsor, Thorpe Underwood, Warkton, Weekly, Weston-by-Welland and Wilbarston.
9. If all places are allocated, a waiting list will be held during Year 7 with places being allocated in accordance with the criteria set out above.
10. Under criterion 3, the member of staff must have worked at the school for a minimum of 2 years at the time of application

As an Academy, Southfield School acts as its ‘Own Admission Authority’ (OAA), as such Orbis Education Trust (the Academy Trust that operates the school) are responsible for the allocation of places at Southfield School and the implementation of this process.

An ‘In-Year’ Admission Application is an application that is made for a place at Southfield School outside the normal admissions round of September (Year 6 to) Year 7 entry. Any application for Year 8, 9, 10 and 11 (or for Year 7 from 1st September onwards in the year of entry) is deemed to be an ‘In-Year’ application.

How places will be allocated

Where places are available within the year group, places will be allocated in full accordance with the School Admissions Code (2021) and within 10 school days. Where a year group has reached capacity, places will be allocated in accordance with the following oversubscription criteria;

• Pupils with an Education, Health and Care Plan which names the school as appropriate provision will be admitted regardless of the number of applications received.
• Criterion 1: Looked after or previously looked after children
• Criterion 2: Those who have a sibling attending the school, at the time of application, and who will be continuing at the school for the next academic year (a sibling is defined as a child’s brother or sister. A sibling must be living at the same permanent address and as part of the same family unit (one or two parents plus children) to qualify under this criterion).
• Criterion 3: Those children who have a parent who is a member of staff (teaching and support) at Southfield School:
• where the member of staff has been employed at the school for two or more years at the time at which the application for admission to the school is made, and/or where the member of staff is recruited to fill a vacant post for which there is a demonstrable skill shortage.
• Criterion 4: Up to a maximum of 30% of intake places will be allocated to girls living outside the towns and villages as listed in Criterion 5, with those closest to the school having priority.
• Criterion 5: The remaining places will be allocated to girls living within the boundaries of the towns and villages listed below, with the closest having priority: Ashley, Barford, Barton Seagrave, Brampton Ash, Braybrooke, Broughton, Burton Latimer, Cranford, Cransley, Desborough, Dingley, Geddington, Glendon, Grafton Underwood, Great Cransley, Harrington, Kettering, Little Oakley, Loddington, Mawsley, Newton-in-the-Willows, Orton, Pipewell, Pytchley, Rothwell, Rushton, Stoke Albany, Sutton Bassett, Thorpe Malsor, Thorpe Underwood, Warkton, Weekly, Weston-by-Welland and Wilbarston.

· Tie – breaker: If two or more applications cannot otherwise be separated and there is only one place available, a random allocation process will be used to determine who should be allocated the place.

· No other form of selection is employed

How to make an application

To make an application for a place at the school, parents must complete the Southfield School ‘In-Year’ Application form. This form can be downloaded as either a word document or PDF form.

By emailing: [email protected] 

In person/by writing: Southfield School, Lewis Road, Kettering, NN15 6HE

Waiting Lists

Should no places be available in a given year group, for which an application has been made, parents will be able to request a place on the waiting list for that year group. Waiting lists will be kept for each year group until the end of each term, at which they point they will be wiped and parents will be required to confirm in writing that they wish their child to remain on the waiting list for the next term.

When places become available in a year group with a waiting list, they will be allocated in accordance with the oversubscription criteria detailed above.

Right to appeal

Should an applicant be refused a place, parents have the right to appeal against the Admission Authority’s decision to an Appeals Panel set up by the Peterborough Diocese Board of Education.
Parents wishing to appeal should contact:
Tel: 01604 887006

Post: The Appeals Administrator
Diocesan Board of Education
Bouverie Court
6 The Lakes Northampton
NN4 7YD

Any queries must be put in writing to the Academy or to the Diocesan Board of Education who will be responsible for administering the appeals process

Friday 31 October 2025

• Closing date for applications
• Apply on line at https://www.northnorthants.gov.uk/secondary-school-places or any North Northamptonshire library
• Apply by post by downloading the information booklet from the above link and complete the application form at the end of the booklet

Monday 2 March 2026

• Offer letters posted to parents
• If you have applied online you will be able to login in and view your offer there
• It will be assumed that you have accepted your allocated place unless you let North Northamptonshire County Council know otherwise

March 2026

• Welcome information emailed by Southfield School

Wednesday 2nd September 2026

• First day of term for Year 7

Please contact our admission team for enquiries [email protected] 

Appeals

Should an applicant be refused a place, parents have the right to appeal against the Admission Authority’s decision to an Appeals Panel set up by the Peterborough Diocese Board of Education.
Parents wishing to appeal should contact:
Tel: 01604 887006

Post: The Appeals Administrator
Diocesan Board of Education
Bouverie Court
6 The Lakes Northampton
NN4 7YD

Any queries must be put in writing to the Academy or to the Diocesan Board of Education who will be responsible for administering the appeals process.

National Offer Day - 2 March 2026
Deadline for receipt of Notice of Appeal in order to be certain of being included in the main round of appeals - 28 March 2026 (5pm)
Notification of date and time of the appeal - Every effort will be made by NNC to convene on time appeals within 40 school days from the closing date for lodging appeals, however, there may be delays due to limitations of video conferencing facilities. Appeals will be scheduled at the earliest possible date.

Note from the Independent School Appeal Clerk - The appeal process in 2024.

Your appeal will be heard remotely.

All Admission Authorities are required to comply with the School Admission Appeals Code. This was most recently updated in October 2022 and allows for the Admission Authority to make arrangements for appeals to be heard by video conference or, in the absence of that, by telephone. That is the decision of the Admission Authority for Southfield School for Girls.

All admission appeals for this school have been heard remotely since the beginning of the Pandemic in March 2020, and I have been happy - as well as a little surprised - at how well it has worked. During the Pandemic there was no other option than for the appeal to be heard in this way and ultimately it became clear that this format offered benefits to all participants including efficiency and convenience.

All you need is access to a PC, a mobile telephone, or a tablet. You can choose the most comfortable place from where to present your appeal case, you will not have to appear within a more formal setting and you will not have to travel to a venue to be heard.

Through the appeal administrator, the Admission Authority has made sure that no appellant has been disadvantaged by their appeal being heard in this way. Any unexpected issues that have arisen with the use of technology have been overcome to prevent any disadvantage and provide all appellants with a fair opportunity to put their appeal case to the Independent Appeal Panel.

If you have any personal issues or restrictions that you feel might undermine your appeal being heard in this way, you can contact the appeal administrator, and he will look to provide any reasonable adjustments to give you the chance to participate in the same way and to the same level as any other appellant.

“The most important aspect for me is that you are offered a fair chance to present your appeal circumstances to the Independent Appeal Panel. If so, you will have had every opportunity to try and secure a place at this school by making an appeal.”

Robert Hartgroves – Independent School Appeal Clerk, February 2025.

Year 7 September 2024 Notice of Appeal Southfield School

Guidance Notes

In-Year Notice of Appeal Southfield School