Roman Catholic school admission policy ruled unlawful

A leading Roman Catholic school has been told by an adjudicator that its admission arrangements for September 2010 breach the Schools Admission Code and that the unlawful aspects of its selection process “must cease forthwith”.

The objections to the approach adopted by Cardinal Vaughan Memorial School – a heavily-oversubscribed comprehensive in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea – were lodged by the Diocese of Westminster.

The adjudicator, Alan Parker, upheld two out of three alleged breaches of the ‘mandatory’ aspects of the Code. These were that the arrangements inappropriately gave priority on the basis of the applicant’s, or his parent’s, involvement in church related activities, and that the use of dates when applicants first received the sacraments of Confession and Holy Communion is procedurally unfair. The use of dates in this way, the adjudicator warned, had the potential for racial discrimination.

An allegation that the school was also in breach because it used its own priest reference form – instead of the procedure recommended by the diocese – was rejected, except to the extent that the school’s own form sought information in order to apply inappropriate criteria.

The adjudicator also rejected the diocese’s arguments that the school had fallen foul of the non-mandatory aspects of the Code in relation to its selection of 10% of pupils according to music aptitude (though he found that the school was using inappropriate tests) and that Cardinal Vaughan did not give priority to practicing Catholics living closest to the school. However, the adjudicator also ruled that the school was in breach because it only recognised “exceptional needs” by allocating one additional point within its points system.

A number of objections to the school’s sixth-form admissions policy – such as a requirement for applicants to submit samples of their work and making decisions on based on them, and a requirement that they also submit ‘personal statements’ and references from previous schools – were also upheld.

The adjudicator concluded that the overall arrangements are not “clear, objective and fair” as required by paragraph 1.71 of the Code and that the points system was not compliant with the Code. He recommended a number of immediate changes to the school’s admissions arrangements.

In a statement on its website, Cardinal Vaughan acknowledged that its arrangements for 2010 were the subject of an objection to the Office of the Schools’ Adjudicator.

“The Adjudicator's decision, received in December 2009, has been noted and is currently being considered by the School's legal team,” it said.