Summary
The School Admissions Code sets the core rules for state funded school admissions in England. It requires admission arrangements to be clear, fair and objective, and it controls how oversubscription criteria, waiting lists, selection, looked after children priority and admissions processes should work.
For home buyers, the essential point is that living near a school is not the same as being guaranteed a place. You must read the determined admission arrangements for the intake year you need. Check the oversubscription criteria, how distance is measured, whether siblings, faith, aptitude, catchment, feeder school, banding or random allocation apply, and how waiting lists are ranked. The policy, not your mapping app, decides how the school allocates places.
Definition
The School Admissions Code is statutory guidance that admission authorities in England must follow when setting and applying admission arrangements for state funded schools. It governs fair, clear and objective admissions criteria, oversubscription rules, waiting lists and related admissions processes.