Our school admissions process complies with Lancashire’s Coordinated Admissions Scheme and is approved by the Blackburn Diocesan Board of Education.
Every parent will be asked to express all three of their secondary school preferences on one application, which is submitted to Lancashire County Council online. If you live outside Lancashire County Council you will express your three preferences to your own education authority e.g. Bolton or Wigan, and they will forward your choices to Lancashire where any of your choices is a Lancashire school. The closing date for applications for high school is 31st October of the year prior to admission. It is the responsibility of applicants to read thoroughly the Admission Policy and arrangements for St Michael’s CE High School so that they understand how to make an application to the school.
St Michael’s, along with many church schools has its own additional supplementary form. The information you submit on this form is used to rank your child's application against the criteria in our published admission policy. The form will is available on the website. You MUST complete this form if you want your application to be assessed under the faith criteria for admission.
Please complete either the online form, or the word document below and return to school by 31st October of the year prior to admission. Signed copies of the form may be emailed to admissions@saint-michaels.lancs.sch.uk.
Please note that verification of church attendance will be sought from the vicar/minister you name on the form.
Applications received after 31st October will be marked as late.
Our published admission number (PAN) is 225.
Admissions Policies
Admissions Policy 2025/26 (Intake September 2025)
Supplementary Information Forms
Supplementary Information Form (SIF) for Admission September 2025 (Online form available from September 1st) 
In-Year Admission Applications
St Michael’s is an oversubscribed CE High School and has been for many years. As per the requirements set out in the School Admissions Code September 2021, our process for In-Year Admission Applications is as follows.
1. In the first instance, contact the Admissions Officer, Mrs Catherine Jenner on the school number 01257 264740.
2. Should you decide to proceed with your application you will need to complete our school In-Year Admission Application Form and return it to admissions@saint-michaels.lancs.sch.uk
3. Once the In-Year Admission Application Form is received it will be considered by the Governing Board and you will receive written notification of their decision within 15 school days.
4. If unsuccessful, should you then wish to appeal the decision of the Governing Board, you would need to do so within 14 days of the date of the application decision by means of the Appeals Form which would be issued to you by the Admissions Officer and would need to be returned to admissions@saint-michaels.lancs.sch.uk
5. Once all the relevant paperwork is complete, it will be forwarded to the Local Education Authority, who are responsible for setting up an Independent Appeal Hearing. It would be the Local Education Authority who would notify you of the date/time/venue of the hearing.
Appeals:
Please find below the link to the Lancashire Appeals Form:
Where the governors are unable to offer a place because the school is oversubscribed, parents have the right to appeal and this will be heard by an independent admission panel set up under the School Standards and Framework Act 1998, as amended by the Education Act 2002. Parents will have the opportunity to submit their case in writing and also to attend the panel in order to present their case.
To appeal, please complete the Lancashire County Council online appeal form which can be found here:
Once an online form has been submitted it will automatically be forwarded to us – you do not need to submit a paper copy. If you are unable to access the online Appeal Form, please contact us for a paper copy.
In order for all papers to be processed and reviewed, if you wish to appeal, a completed Appeal Form and any additional papers you wish to include need to be submitted by Monday 15th April 2024. Appeals which are received after the deadline will be slotted into the schedule where this is possible, however, there is no guarantee that this will happen and late appeals may be heard after the stipulated date.
The independent appeals for St Michael’s C E High School are due to be heard during the period 20-24th May 2024. The schedule is subject to change depending on availability of panel members, clerks and the number of appeals.
If you are appealing on faith grounds, and haven’t already submitted a supplementary form with your original application, you should complete one now and return to us at admissions@saint-michaels.lancs.sch.uk Please see the Admissions Policy and Supplementary Form for September 2024 intake.
It is vital that your appeal includes all the information you wish to be considered by the independent appeal panel as it will not be possible to introduce new information during the hearing as panel members will not be able to give it appropriate consideration.
Proposed Admission Arrangements for 2026-2027 St Michael's CE High School
Admission authorities are required to consult upon any proposed changes to admission arrangements.
The proposed arrangements for 2026-2027 are available here.
If you wish to comment upon the consultation please email admissions@saint-michaels.lancs.sch.uk
The consultation period closes on Thursday 14th November 2024.