The Published Admission Number (PAN)
Every school has a legal Published Admission Number (PAN) applicable to the year of entry, which indicates the maximum number of places available in the year group concerned.
Please see the Somerset School and Academy information and statistics document to find out the PAN for each school.
Every school has a legal Published Admission Number (PAN) applicable to the year of entry. This indicates the maximum number of places available in the year group concerned.
The Published Admission Number is set to maximise parental preference within the resources and accommodation available.
If there are fewer applications than the Published Admission Number (such as places available), every child will be allocated a place. But if a school receives more applications than the PAN (is over-subscribed) the published over-subscription criteria will be applied to determine which children should be offered the available places.
Places will be allocated using the ‘Equal Preference with Ranking’ method. This requires the admissions authority to consider all preferences received for a particular school (first, second and third) equally and where the school is over-subscribed apply the over-subscription criteria. Where more than one of your preferences can be met the local authority will offer you a place at your highest ranked preference.
Unfortunately, at some schools, there will not be enough places for all the children whose parents would like them to go there. When all places have been allocated up to the Published Admission Number, the admission authority may refuse any further requests.
Admission arrangements and over-subscription criteria
The admission arrangements for VC and C schools can be found on Our admission arrangements page. The best way to find the admission arrangements for own admission authority schools and academies is to look on the school website but we also have links to the admission policies for each school on our Local Offer website. Just search for the school you are interested in and click on the admissions policy link.
All admission decisions will be made in accordance with the published admission arrangements for the school or academy in question. Parents are encouraged to read the criteria for the schools they are considering.
School and Academies in Somerset
Here is a full list of all primary phase schools in Somerset and the Published Admission Number for each school.
The different types of schools are:
- First schools: Age 4 to 9 years
- Infant schools: Age 4 to 7 years
- Junior schools: Age 7 to 11 years
- Primary schools: Age 4 to 11 years
- Middle schools: Age 9 to 13 years
- All through schools: Age 4 to 16
School and Academy information and statistics
Allocation Summaries for September 2024
Here is a summary of how the places were allocated at schools for September 2024 on our website.
Abbreviations
A – Academy
C – Community School
F – Foundation School
FS – Free School
VA – Voluntary Aided School
VC – Voluntary Controlled School
PAN – Published Admission Number
For a full explanation, please see our School admissions terms and meanings page.