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Notification of result of petition
10.
- (1) Where the petition is a valid petition the designated body shall notify the persons referred to in paragraph (2) of this fact and that a ballot will be held.
(2) The persons to be notified are -
(a) the local education authority which maintains the grammar school or schools to which the petition relates;
(b) if different, the local education authority in which such grammar school or schools is situated;
(c) the Secretary of State;
(d) the petition organiser;
(e) (when established) the school organisation committee (within the meaning of section 24(4) of the Act) for the area of the local education authority referred to in sub-paragraph (a) and (if applicable) sub-paragraph (b);
(f) the governing body of each grammar school to which the petition relates;
(g) where the petition was a petition for an area ballot the governing body or proprietor of each other relevant school in relation to the area; and
(h) where the petition was a petition for a feeder school ballot, the governing body or proprietor of each feeder school for the group of grammar schools or stand alone grammar school (as the case may be).
(3) Where the petition is not a valid petition the designated body shall notify the persons referred to in paragraph (2)(a) to (d) and (f).
PART III
BALLOTS
Ballots - general
11.
- (1) A ballot under section 105 of the Act shall (depending on the terms of the petition) be -
(a) a ballot which relates to all grammar schools within a relevant area; or
(b) a ballot which relates to a group of grammar schools; or
(c) a ballot which relates to a stand alone grammar school.
(2) A ballot falling within paragraph 1(a) is referred to in these Regulations as an "area ballot" and a ballot falling within paragraph (1)(b) or (1)(c) is referred to in these Regulations as a "feeder school ballot".
Eligibility to vote in a ballot
12.
- (1) Subject to regulation 22(3), the persons eligible to vote in a ballot are -
(a) the persons who were "relevant eligible parents" for the purposes of the petition by virtue of being school registered parents, and
(b) where the ballot is an area ballot (in addition) all persons who are ballot registered parents on a date 4 weeks after the designated body gave the notification required by regulation 10(1).
Question on which ballot is to be held
13.
- (1) Where the ballot is an area ballot or a feeder school ballot which relates to a group of grammar schools each ballot paper shall include the following wording -
"
Are you in favour of all the schools listed introducing admission arrangements which admit children of all abilities?
Place a cross (X) in the box of your choice.
| YES |
|
 |
NO |
|
"
(2) Where the ballot is a feeder school ballot which relates to a stand alone grammar school each ballot paper shall include the following wording -
"
Are you in favour of [here give name of school] introducing admission arrangements which admit children of all abilities?
Place a cross (X) in the box of your choice.
| YES |
|
|
NO |
|
"
Ballots - supplementary
14.
- (1) Each ballot shall be a secret postal ballot.
(2) Each ballot paper shall include a list of the grammar schools to which it relates.
(3) Each parent who falls within regulation 12 shall have one vote (irrespective of the number of children which a parent may have and the number of schools they attend).
(4) The designated body shall secure that, subject to regulation 22(4), the date by which ballot papers must be returned to them shall be -
(a) no later than 10 weeks from the date on which the designated body gave the notification required by regulation 10(1); and
(b) at least 5 weeks from the date on which ballot papers were sent to parents (or if ballot papers were sent on more than one date, the last such date).
(5) Where the designated body have determined the result of a ballot they shall forthwith notify the persons mentioned in regulation 10(2) of that fact, and, where the ballot is in favour of retaining selective admission arrangements, the date on which the moratorium period will expire.
Declaring a ballot void
15.
- (1) Subject to paragraph (2) below the Secretary of State may declare a ballot void if it appears to him that -
(a) any requirement of these regulations has been contravened in the case of a ballot held in purported compliance with these regulations;
(b) an authority or body referred to in section 107(2) of the Act have acted in contravention of that section;
(c) persons other than those falling within regulation 12 or, as the case may be, regulation 22(3) have purported to vote in the ballot;
(d) persons who fall within regulation 12 or, as the case may be, regulation 22(3) have been prevented from voting or hindered from doing so freely in accordance with their own opinion by any other person; or
(e) material has been provided, or meetings have been held, in a manner which does not comply with the principles for the production of such material or the standards for the holding of such meetings or debates contained in the Ballot Information Code specified in Schedule 4
and that voting in a ballot is likely to have been influenced to a significant extent as a result of any of those matters.
(2) Paragraph (1) shall not apply unless before the date which is two weeks after the ballot result date any person or body referred to in paragraph (3) have requested the Secretary of State in writing to exercise his powers under paragraph (1), specifying the reason for such a request and the grounds on which the powers under paragraph (1) may be exercisable.
(3) The persons or bodies mentioned in paragraph (2) are -
(a) the designated body;
(b) the local education authority which maintains the grammar school to which the ballot relates, or, where the ballot was an area ballot and the area is one falling in paragraph (b) of the definition of "relevant area", either of the local education authorities referred to in that definition;
(c) in a case of an area ballot, the governing body or the proprietor of any relevant school;
(d) in the case of a feeder school ballot, the governing body of any grammar school to which the ballot relates or the governing body or proprietor of any feeder school for the group of grammar schools or stand alone grammar school;
(e) any 20 or more parents who were eligible to vote in the ballot.
(4) Where a request is received under paragraph (3), the Secretary of State shall notify the governing body of each grammar school to which the ballot relates and the local education authority.
(5) Where a request is received under paragraph (3), but the Secretary of State determines not to declare a ballot void he shall notify the persons or body who made the request, the governing body of each grammar school to which the ballot relates, and the local education authority.
(6) Where the Secretary of State declares a ballot void he shall notify the persons mentioned in regulation 10(2) of that fact.
(7) Where the Secretary of State declares a ballot void, a fresh ballot shall be held in accordance with this Part (and accordingly the persons who are eligible to vote in such a ballot shall be the persons who in accordance with regulation 12 or, as the case may be, regulation 22(3), were eligible to vote in the ballot which was declared void) but regulation 14(4)(a) shall have effect as if it provided that the designated body should secure that the date by which ballot papers must be returned is no later than 10 weeks from the date of the notification under paragraph (6) above.
"Moratorium" on further ballots
16.
- (1) Where the result of a ballot is that the schools or school to which the ballot relates should retain selective admission arrangements, no further ballot shall be held relating to the same area, group of grammar schools or stand alone grammar school within the period of 5 years from the ballot result date.
(2) This regulation is without prejudice to regulation 8(6).
PART IV
SUPPLEMENTARY
Implementation of decision that a school should cease to have selective admission arrangements.
17.
- (1) Subject to paragraph (2), for the purposes of section 108(2) of the Act (which, where it applies, provides that the admission authority for a grammar school to which the ballot related shall secure that their admission arrangements are revised so that the school no longer has selective admission arrangements), the prescribed school year is -
(a) where the ballot result date is on or before 31st December in any school year, the second school year after the ballot result date; and
(b) where the ballot result date is after 31st December in any school year, the third school year after the ballot result date.
(2) Where the Secretary of State has given the notification required by regulation 15(4) but determines not to declare the ballot void, paragraph (1) above shall have effect as if the ballot result date was the date of the notification required to be given under regulation 15(5).
Information to be given by the designated body
18.
- (1) If -
(a) 10 or more persons jointly notify the designated body in writing that they are considering raising a petition; and
(b) the notification nominates one of those persons as the person to receive information from the designated body,
the designated body shall, as soon as practicable, give that person the information specified in paragraph (2).
(2) The information referred to in paragraph (1) is -
(a) where the proposed petition is to be a petition for a feeder school ballot -
(i) the names of the feeder schools for the group of grammar schools, or, as the case may be, the stand alone grammar school in the school year in which the notification is made (on the assumption that regulation 23(3) to (5) will not apply during that school year); and
(ii) the transfer age group for the group of grammar schools or stand alone grammar school in question;
(b) the number of parents who would need to sign the petition for it to comply with regulation 7(5) on the assumption -
(i) that the petition is received by the designated body during the same petition period as that in which the notification was made, or where the petition was not received during a petition period or was received on the date referred to in paragraph (5), that the petition is received in the next petition period;
(ii) that regulation 9(3) will not apply in relation to any school in the petition period referred to in paragraph (i) of this sub-paragraph; and
(iii) where the proposed petition is to be a petition for a feeder school ballot, that regulation 23(3) to (5) will not apply during that petition period;
(c) the words to be contained in a petition in accordance with regulation 8(2).
(3) Where the designated body have determined, in the light of information obtained under regulation 19, that a school has become a feeder school for a group of grammar schools or a stand alone grammar school they shall notify the governing body of that school of that fact and of the transfer age group for the group of grammar schools or stand alone grammar school in question.
(4) Where the designated body have determined, in the light of information obtained under regulation 19 that a school has ceased to be a feeder school for a group of grammar schools or a stand alone grammar school they shall notify the governing body of that school.
(5) The date referred to in paragraph (2)(b)(i) is the date such that, if a petition had been received on that date, regulation 9(3) would have applied in relation to at least one school and, as a result of its application, the electoral list which would have applied for the purpose of determining whether a parent was a relevant eligible parent would have been that for the school term after the summer holidays.
Information to be given to the designated body
19.
- (1) The governing body of each stand alone grammar school shall, within 10 school days of a request by the designated body, provide the designated body with the names of the schools which in the school year in which the request is made are feeder schools for that grammar school.
(2) The governing body of each grammar school in a group of grammar schools shall, within 10 school days of a request by the designated body, provide the designated body with details of all the schools from which pupils have transferred to the grammar school, disregarding any pupils who fall to be disregarded under regulation 6(2), during the school years specified in the request and the number of pupils who transferred from each such school to the grammar school.
(3) The governing body of each grammar school in a group of grammar schools or stand alone grammar school shall, within 10 school days of a request by the designated body, inform the designated body of the transfer age group for the school.
(4) The governing body or proprietor of each relevant school shall, subject to paragraph (5), within 15 school days of a request by the designated body, provide the designated body with the electoral list for the school as it has effect on the date 10 school days after the date of the request.
(5) Where however the governing body or proprietor of a relevant school have already during a petition period provided the designated body with the electoral list for the school and a further request under paragraph (4) is received during the same petition period, the governing body or proprietor may comply with paragraph (4) by providing details of the changes to the electoral list which have taken place since the date of the electoral list which was previously provided (or, as the case may be, since the date on which details of changes were previously provided under this paragraph) as those changes have effect on the date 10 school days after the date of the request; and any reference in these Regulations to "the electoral list" shall, where the context requires, be a reference to the list as amended in the light of changes referred to above.
(6) The governing body or proprietor of each relevant school shall, within 10 school days of a request by the designated body -
(a) provide the designated body with details of the dates on which the terms are expected to start and end in any school year specified in the request; and
(b) provide the designated body with any other information they may reasonably require to verify information given under paragraphs (1) to (4) or to enable the designated body to comply with regulation 7(2) or 18.
(7) Any local education authority -
(a) specified in Schedule 1, or
(b) which maintains a grammar school in a group or a stand alone grammar school,
and the councils of London borough of Sutton and the county of Surrey shall, within 10 days of a request by the designated body, provide the designated body with such information as they may reasonably require to comply with regulation 7(2) or 18.
Information to be given to parents
20.
- (1) Where any registered parent of a registered pupil at a school to which this regulation applies, other than a registered parent referred to in paragraph (3), so requests in writing, and the request is made in connection with the raising of a petition or in connection with the dissemination of material in connection with a proposed ballot, the governing body or proprietor of the school shall, subject to paragraph (4) -
(a) make available to the parent for inspection at the school (at reasonable times and free of charge) the electoral list for the school; and
(b) supply the parent with a copy of the list.
(2) This regulation applies to a school which -
(a) at the date of the request referred to in paragraph (1) above is a relevant school, (whether or not, in the case of a school which is a feeder school for a group of grammar schools, the governing body has been given the notification required by regulation 18(3)); or
(b) at that date appears to the governing body to be or to be likely to be a relevant school by reason of being a feeder school for a grammar school in a group of grammar schools or a stand alone grammar school.
(3) Paragraph (1) does not apply where the request is made by -
(a) a registered parent who on the date of the request is not an eligible parent by virtue of falling within regulation 4(3);
(b) a registered parent whose only child at the school falls to be disregarded under regulation 4(4) or (6) for the purpose of determining whether a parent is an eligible parent; or
(c) a registered parent of a child at an independent school situated in a relevant area who on the date of the request is not resident in the relevant area in question.
(4) A governing body or proprietor shall not disclose to a parent under paragraph (1) the name and address of any person who has requested the governing body in writing not to disclose that information under that paragraph and accordingly the name and address of that person shall be excluded from the list there mentioned.
(5) Subject to regulation 22(5), if the designated body have given the notification required by regulation 10(1) that a valid petition has been received, paragraph (1) shall not apply to schools which are, or are likely to be, relevant schools in relation to the area, group of grammar schools or stand alone grammar school to which the petition relates, where the request is made later than 4 weeks after the date of that notification, unless the subsequent ballot is in favour of retaining selective admission arrangements and (where that is the case) until the end of the moratorium period for that area, group of grammar schools or stand alone grammar school.
(6) A governing body or proprietor of a school who under paragraph (1)(b) supply copies of the list mentioned in that paragraph may charge such fee as they think fit (not exceeding the cost of supply) in respect of each copy supplied.
Application of section 497 of the Education Act 1996
21.
Section 497 of the Education Act 1996 applies to proprietors of independent schools in relation to the duties imposed by regulations 19(4) and (6) and 20.
Provisions where petition is received before 31st July 1999
22.
- (1) This regulation applies in relation to any petition and any ballot held in consequence of such a petition where the petition is received before 31st July 1999.
(2) Regulation 5(5) shall have effect as if for "the date 4 weeks after the date of such notification" there were substituted "28th September 1999".
(3) Despite regulation 12, the persons eligible to vote in a ballot requested by a petition to which this regulation applies are -
(a) each parent who is a school registered parent -
(i) at the date of the electoral list for the term which includes, or immediately follows, 1st September 1999 for any school which is a relevant school for that ballot, or
(ii) if (despite a request under regulation 19(4)) the designated body does not receive an electoral list for that term, at the date of the electoral list for the first term after that term which the designated body receive; and
(b) where the ballot is an area ballot (in addition) each parent who is a ballot registered parent on 28th September 1999.
(4) Regulation 14(4)(a) shall not apply but the designated body shall secure that the date on which ballot papers must be returned shall be as soon as reasonably practicable after 1st September (without prejudice to regulation 14(4)(b)).
(5) Regulation 20(5) shall have effect as if for "later than 4 weeks after the date of that notification" there were substituted "after 28th September 1999".
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