PAN Consultation, 3 December to 12 January
Proposed change to the Published Admission Number (PAN) for Matthew Arnold School from
1st September 2027
Context
Matthew Arnold School is a school on the edge of the West of Oxford. It serves a catchment area that stretches into the city and out to the villages to the west of Oxford, as far as Fyfield, as well as south to Kennington. (see attached catchment map)
In 2017 Matthew Arnold School worked with the local authority to increase its PAN from 180 to 210 to meet the increased number of students within its catchment and to meet the need of a lack of spaces within secondary schools across the city.
For a number of years the school reached its target numbers of 210 in each year group. These numbers were made up from students within the catchment area and beyond its catchment area, within and outside of the city.
In 2020 The Swan school opened in Marston. The Swan school initially had a PAN of 120 and now has a PAN of 180, supporting the need for pupil places within the city.
Over the last five years the number of students in Matthew Arnold School’s partner primary schools has decreased and is forecast to continue this trend.
Additionally there is a local and national trend of decreasing pupil numbers.
These factors have combined to mean that the numbers in Matthew Arnold School have hovered around 200 for the last four years, with projected numbers looking like this will continue into the foreseeable future. An increasing number of students come from significantly outside of the catchment area.
In the current budget climate and in order to run efficiently the optimal number of students in the school would be 180.
The trust and the school does not consider that there would be any adverse effect on families living within the catchment area if the number of pupils is reduced
Proposal
Acer trust and Matthew Arnold School propose reducing the PAN of Matthew Arnold School from 210 pupils to 180 pupils from 1 September 2027. The lined admission arrangement confirms the proposed admission arrangements for 2027 with this being the only change: PROPOSED MAS admission arrangements 2027-28 (see page 3)
Responding to the consultation
To respond to the consultation please email office@maschool.org.uk with the email heading: MAS PAN consultation by Tuesday 13th January
Proposed Matthew Arnold School Admission Arrangements Policy 2027 - 2028
