FAQs

• You need to apply for a place via the Borough in which your child lives. In your application you need to list all the schools you are applying to in order of preference irrespective of where the schools are. You must submit a valid application to the Borough by Friday 31 October 2025. The application form may ask for the code for the schools on your form; Skinners' Academy's code is 2046909.

• Primary schools will generally give information or advice to parents about to fill in application forms. Generally, though, the primary schools will know most about their own Borough's process.

Example: your child lives in Hackney, but attends a Haringey primary school, that school will be most aware of Haringey's process.  You need to make sure that you apply for your child via Hackney Education (HE).

• If you have any application queries you should refer to your home borough's website, and if that doesn't help, contact the Admissions Department at your home borough as soon as possible.

• What is it?

The Banding Test used by Skinners’ Academy, and by many of the Hackney secondary schools, is an online CAT (Cognitive Abilities Test). It tests reasoning ability. Your child cannot practise for it and they cannot fail it.

• Where does it take place?

If your child attends a Hackney primary school, they will take the test in class between mid-September and mid-October 2025.

If your child attends a non-Hackney primary school they will take the CAT on a Saturday in November or early December 2025 at one of various secondary schools in Hackney used as testing venues. Parents will be notified of date and location of the test via letter from Hackney Education in early to mid-November 2025.

• How are the results used?

All the pupils who have applied to Skinners’ Academy are placed in 5 equal bands according to their CAT results. An equal number of places will be offered to pupils from each band. Certain categories of pupil in each band will be given priority e.g. siblings, once places have been allocated to those pupils, the rest of the places within each band are offered to those pupils who live closest to the Academy.*

*Please note this is a much abbreviated explanation of our Admissions Policy. To gain a full understanding of how it works you must refer to the policy itself which is viewable here. A printed copy can be provided upon request.

•  Unfortunately, we cannot be sure about how near you need to live to the Academy to get a place. This will change each year depending on various factors including how many siblings apply, where the other applicants live etc.

• You may find information about last year's successful applicants useful, but this does not mean that the same numbers and distances will apply this year.

• To find your nearest schools visit map.lgfl.org.uk/eAdmissions/, then in the box on the left select a local   authority, type in your postcode, select only secondary schools and a map showing your nearest schools will appear. You can then click on the school icons for further information. Information can also be viewed at   www.compare-school-performance.service.gov.uk. Hackney Education, on our behalf, use the property geographical references of applicant and school addresses for the purpose of calculating distances for   admission.

• See the Location map below (for approximate distances only).