Applications for September 2026 will open on Monday 20th October and close at 11.59pm on Sunday 23rd November.
Application is straightforward and should be completed online. A link to the online application form will be available on this page along with full guidance.
Admissions Policy
There are four mains steps to becoming a Sir John Deane’s student:
*Entry requirements to Sir John Deane’s Sixth Form College depend on what school you currently attend.
We have three different categories of schools, as outlined below.
Year 11 leavers from the following Foundation and Partner High Schools:
Entry Requirements
A standard offer for Priority 1 Applicants is 665555.
A grade 5 or above must be achieved in GCSE English Language or GCSE Mathematics (with at least a grade 4 in the other subject).
Year 11 leavers from schools within the unitary authorities of the County of Cheshire:
Entry Requirements
A typical offer for Priority 2 Applicants is 666665 or higher.
A grade 5 or above must be achieved in GCSE English Language or GCSE Mathematics (with at least a grade 4 in the other subject).
Year 11 leavers from schools beyond Cheshire and Year 11 leavers who have been home-educated.
Entry Requirements
A typical offer for Priority 3 Applicants is 766666 or higher.
A grade 5 or above must be achieved in both GCSE English Language and GCSE Mathematics.
Sir John Deane’s students attended a Partner High School
Sir John Deane’s students attended a Priority 2 school
of all students attended a Priority 3 school
is the number of schools the college recruited from in 2025
Please use a personal email address that you check regularly, not your school email address. All correspondence, including offers and requests for information, will be sent to the email address you provide. This ensures you receive updates, even after leaving school.
No, you will not be asked to provide predicted grades in your application, however, you will need to list all of your examined courses. These are the qualifications you expect to receive by the end of Year 11. For many people, these will just be your GCSEs but it may include other qualifications such as BTECs. It may also include GCSEs that you took in Year 10.
Your personal statement should highlight your academic interests, achievements, and reasons for wanting to study at Sir John Deane’s. You may also wish to mention extracurricular activities, career aspirations and any circumstances relevant to your application. The personal statement is part of how we get to know you as a student, and it helps us understand what opportunities or career pathways you may be interested in.
The subjects you put on the application form are an expression of interest. Please put down the three you are most interested in studying.
Once you have received your GCSE results and have secured your place at the college, you will be invited to Enrolment where we will look at all your subject options again.
If you change your mind about your subject choices before Enrolment, please feel free to email the admissions team at admissions@sjd.ac.uk
At Enrolment, we will look at a combination of indicators, including average GCSE points scores, individual GCSE performance and overall grade profile to help determine the right programme for you.
To meet your offer, your six best GCSE grades must be at the grades on your offer or above. There are also additional requirements for GCSE Maths and English Language that will be specified in your offer, based on your Priority Group.
For example, if your offer is 666665, that means you need to get five grade 6s, and one grade 5 or higher in your six best GCSE grades. If you don’t meet that threshold, you can’t compensate for a lower grade in one of those six best GCSEs by getting a higher grade in another. For example, if your offer is 666665, and your six best GCSEs are 966655, you haven’t met the offer. The grade 9 doesn’t compensate for the fact you didn’t get 666665 or higher.
Should I just focus on those six best GCSEs then?
No, we look at all of your GCSE results. Whilst those six best GCSEs you achieve are what we will consider to secure your place at college, you have no way of knowing in advance which ones they will be. In addition, you want the best grade profile you can achieve to give yourself the best possible set of options and career pathways when you come to Enrolment.
Yes, you can apply for a maximum of three courses, including a combination of A-level and BTEC/AAQ courses.
The courses on your application are an expression of interest, and you will get a chance to change them when you come to enrolment.
For important changes, such contact details, or if you wish to withdraw your application, please notify the college’s admissions team as soon as possible. You should email admissions@sjd.ac.uk
If you submit your application after the window closes, you will be considered a ‘Late Applicant’ and are not guaranteed an offer of a place. You will not receive an offer at this point, but you will be invited to send in your GCSE results on GCSE Results Day.
Late Applicants may be offered a place in August if there are additional places available, once GCSE results have been submitted and the exact number of successful offer-holders is known.
We will aim to send all offers to applicants before the college Christmas break.
Once the application window closes at 11.59pm on Sunday 23rd November. The college will process all the applications and decide the specific offer it is making to all applicants in each Priority Group. We will send out all offers as soon as possible after that.
Once you receive your offer, we will stay in touch with you and your parent / carer.
Full details regarding Enrolment and what you need to do on GCSE results day, will be sent out at the start of summer. In summary, you will need to email an electronic copy of your GCSE results (photo or PDF) on GCSE results day (Thursday 20th August) and be available for an in person enrolment appointment during the week commencing August 24th.
You should still email your GCSE results to the college. Although you have not met the conditions of your offer, the exact number of successful applicants cannot be known in advance, so there remains a chance that the college may offer you a place. However, the likelihood of this happening will vary from year to year, so please make sure you have a clear alternative option as well.
If your contact details change, please notify the college’s admissions team as soon as possible. You should email admissions@sjd.ac.uk
It is important that we have your correct contact details as this will ensure you receive all communications regarding your application and offer.
Yes, as part of the application form, you will be asked to provide details of any special educational needs needs or disabilities. There will be an opportunity to discuss these in full with a member of our Inclusion and Learning department at Enrolment.
Yes, if your family is on a low income or in receipt of benefits you may be eligible for financial assistance from the 16-19 Bursary Fund.
Full details of this, and other means of support, including Free School Meals and the Student Opportunity Fund are available here.
There are a range of ways to travel to college including public transport services and buses operated solely for Sir John Deane’s Sixth Form College students. Full details can be found here.
For those wishing to use a college subsidised bus service, you will be asked to indicate which area you would like to travel from when completing the online application.