Who decides the school's admissions criteria?

Who decides the school's admissions criteria?

Ralph Lucas (Editor, The Good Schools Guide) gives expert video advice on: What kind of admissions criteria might a school apply?; How do schools choose which children to accept?; We don't live in the catchment area of a perfect school, can we still apply? and more...

It depends on the school. For most state schools, it's the local education authority who will set a particular pattern throughout the authority. Some state schools through religious or other association have more control over their own admissions criteria. The new city academies have control over their admissions criteria, so within any area you will get a group of schools which have not entirely set their own criteria, but have had a voice in their own criteria and have evolved what it should be in discussion with the rest of the schools in the area. You can get schools which will give preference to one thing, particularly religious schools which give preference to religious background and other things which may be specific to that particular school. You've got to look at the brochure as a whole and not think that just because one school in the area has a particular set of criteria that it will apply to others.