Applications for Manchester Enterprise Academy will be made through the Manchester Local Authority Co-ordinated Admissions Process. Information about the application process and access to the online application form will be sent to parents/carers by the relevant Local Authority. 

All parents/carers are required to apply to their home Local Authority regardless of where the school/academy they are applying for is situated. Manchester residents will apply to Manchester Local Authority. The Local Authority will liaise with other Admission Authorities in Manchester and other Local Authorities where required. Manchester Local Authority will inform parent/carers of the outcome of their application. 

Further information on Admission Applications is available from www.manchester.gov.uk/admissions and can be requested by phone on 0161 245 7166. Manchester Local Authority’s Integrated Admissions Service can be contacted at the address below. 

The closing date for applications for September 2027 admission is 23:59 on Saturday 31st October 2026. Any admission forms received after the closing date will be processed as late applications.

Manchester Local Authority’s Integrated Admissions Service can be contacted at the address below: 

School Admissions
PO Box 532
Town Hall Extension
Manchester
M60 2LA

All applications will then be processed by the Admission Authority, applying the oversubscription criteria below if necessary. All parents will be notified of the outcome of the application process by 1st March 2027. 

Where fewer applications than the PAN stated above are received, all applicants will be offered a place. When the school is oversubscribed, the order in which places will be allocated is as follows:

  5.1. Looked after children and previously looked after children A ‘looked after child’ is one who is (a) in the care of a Local Authority, or (b) being provided with accommodation by a Local Authority in the exercise of their social services functions, in England. A ‘previously looked after child’ is one who was looked after in England, but ceased to be so because they were adopted, or became subject to a child arrangements or special guardianship order, as well as a child who appears to the Governing Body to have been in state care outside of England (i.e. in the care of or accommodated by a public authority, religious organisation or any other provider whose sole/main purpose is to benefit society), but ceased to be so as a result of being adopted. Applications in this category may need to be supported by documentary evidence confirming the child’s status, such as a signed letter from the child’s current or former social worker confirming their status, and/or an adoption, child arrangements or special guardianship order. In the case of children adopted from state care outside England (as defined above), evidence of having been in state care outside England and of being adopted may be required, ideally accompanying the application. When assessing the evidence provided, the DfE's current guidance will be followed. Where the Local Authority's Virtual School Head has already verified the child’s status and the School is able to confirm this with them, there will be no need for further evidence to be provided by parents.

5.2. Children with an exceptional social and/or medical need to attend Manchester Enterprise Academy This category will include children with an exceptional social and/or medical need, or who have a parent with an exceptional social and/or medical need, where this need means that only Manchester Enterprise Academy is suitable and no other school would be. The application must be supported by satisfactory documentary evidence from a medical specialist or social worker confirming the child's or parent's exceptional social and/or medical need, and setting out why they must attend Manchester Enterprise Academy rather than any other school because of that need. If evidence is not provided to support the application, the child cannot be considered for a place under this category and will be placed in the next category that applies. Parents should note that mild medical conditions or a desire for the child to attend Manchester Enterprise Academy because of their aptitude or ability, or because their friends will be attending, will not meet this criteria. Page 3 of 8 February 2026 Manchester Enterprise Academy Policy Document The Board of Trustees has agreed with Manchester City Council that it will convene a panel to make the decision as to whether the criteria for inclusion in this category are met, on the Board's behalf. If the criteria are not met, the child will be placed in the next category that applies.

5.3.  Children with a sibling at Manchester Enterprise Academy This category will include children with a sibling in Years 7 to 10 at the time of application/the application closing date only. For the avoidance of doubt, children with a sibling in Year 11 at the time of application/the application closing date will not meet the criteria for inclusion in this category. In this policy, a 'sibling’ means a full brother or sister (sharing both parents), a half brother or sister (sharing one parent), a legally adopted brother or sister (full or half), a step-brother or sister (one's parent being married to the other's parent) and any other child living in the same household as part of the same core family unit. In all cases, the sibling must live at the same address as the applicant child at the time of application/the application closing date. For the avoidance of doubt, the children of extended family members (e.g. cousins) and friends will not meet the definition even if they live at the same address as the applicant child. Parents must clearly state the sibling's name in the application form. Failure to do so may result in the child not being identified as having a sibling, and being placed into a category with lower priority.

5.4. Children of staff at Manchester Enterprise Academy This category will include children with a parent who at the time of application/the application closing date has been employed at Manchester Enterprise Academy for two years or more years, or who were recruited to fill a vacant post for which there is a demonstrable skill shortage, will be allocated places in this category. Where staff work at more than one school in the Trust (including Manchester Enterprise Academy), priority will only be given where they are permanently based at Manchester Enterprise Academy for more than 50% of their time during term time at the time of application/the application closing date (and have been for the duration of the two year period referred to above, where this applies). They will not have priority at any other school they work at. In this category, a ‘child of a staff member' means their natural or adopted child, as well as a child of their cohabiting spouse/partner. In all cases, the child must live with the employed parent. In order to identify applicants meeting the criteria in this category, applications must be accompanied by a signed letter on the School’s headed notepaper from the employed parent’s Page 4 of 8 HR manager confirming they meet the criteria stated above. As the School is prohibited from February 2026 Manchester Enterprise Academy Policy Document obtaining the details of more than one parent in the application process, only the employed parent’s details should be given in the application form.

5.5. All other children This category includes all children not falling into any of the categories above.

If in categories 2-5 above a tie-break is necessary to determine which child is admitted, the child living closest to the school will be given priority for admission. Distance is measured from the centre point for a home to the centre point for the school as defined by the Local Land and Property Gazetteer (LLPG) using the Local Authority’s computerised measuring system. 

Random allocation undertaken by the local authority will be used as a tie-break in categories 2-5 above to decide who has highest priority for admission if the distance between a child’s home and the academy/free school is equidistant in any two or more cases. 

Late applications are those applications received after the closing date and before the first day of term in September, but not made in time to enable an offer or refusal of a place to be made on National Offer Day.

Late applications will be considered after those received on time. If, following consideration of all applicants the school is oversubscribed, the child will be placed on the school’s waiting list. 

In the normal admission round, the School will operate a waiting list for the duration of the first term following entry of the cohort until 31 December.  

The names of all those who were unsuccessful in achieving a place in the normal admission round will be included on the list. Thereafter the list will be cleared and parents will need to re-apply if they still want to be considered for a place. 

For in-year applications, the School will operate a waiting list for the remainder of the term in which the application was refused. Thereafter the list will be cleared and parents will need to re-apply if they still want to be considered for a place. 

Children are ranked on the waiting list by reference to the oversubscription criteria set out in this policy, not by the date their name was added, which means names can go up as well as down as more children with higher priority are added. Being included on the waiting list does not affect parents' statutory right of appeal against the refusal of a place. 

Children allocated a place under the Local Authority's Fair Access Protocol will take priority over those on the waiting list.