St Bonaventure’s School was founded by the Catholic Church to provide education for boys of Catholic families.  The school is conducted by its governing board as part of the Catholic Church in accordance with its trust deed and instrument of government, and seeks at all times to be a witness to Jesus Christ.

Whenever there are more applications than places available, priority will always be given to Catholic applicants in accordance with the oversubscription criteria stated.  

The Governing Board of St Bonaventure’s School intends to admit 186 boys into Year 7 in the school year which begins in September 2026.  

Applications for places at St Bonaventure’s for Year 7 starting September 2025 were: 475

St Bonaventure’s School is voluntary aided which means we are our own admission authority.

Whenever there are more applications than places available, priority will always be given to Catholic applicants in accordance with the oversubscription criteria stated below;

Oversubscription Criteria

Where there are more applications for places than the number of places available, places will be offered according to the following order of priority:

Criteria 1 – Baptised Catholic looked after and previously looked after children. 

Criteria 2  – Baptised Catholic children who are resident in the deanery of Newham and for whom St Bonaventure’s School is the nearest Catholic school. 

Criteria 3 – Other Baptised Catholic children living outside of the Newham Deanery. 

Criteria 4 – All other Looked After Children and Previously Looked After Children. 

Criteria 5 – Catechumens and members of an Eastern Christian Church. 

Criteria 6 – Children of other Christian denominations whose membership is evidenced by a minister of religion.  

Criteria 7 – Children of other faiths whose membership is evidenced by a religious leader. 

Criteria 8 – Any other children.

Notes on each of the above categories can be found in the below document. 

For full information on the above please read – Determined Admissions Arrangements 2026-2027

Before you complete an application for a place at St Bonaventure’s it is important that you do the following;
  • Carefully read the We are going to Secondary School guide booklet produced by the London Borough of Newham.
  • Carefully read the Determined Admission Arrangements for St Bonaventure’s.
  • Ensure that you have all of the necessary forms and information.
  • Carefully review all virtual open evening material.
  • Seek advice from school staff by phone or email if you require help to complete the documents.
  • Make sure that you have all necessary forms. To ensure that your child is allocated to the most appropriate criterion you will need to complete the Common Application Form (CAF), Supplementary Information Form (SIF) and provide a Baptism Certificate OR the appropriate Faith Leader Reference Form.

It is important that all forms are sent to the correct place by the correct date, so please read all instructions carefully.

CAF – via your Local Authority

SIF – returned directly to St Bonaventure’s School along with Baptism Certificate or Faith Leader Form.

If in doubt, ask the school for clarification.

You can object to these arrangements or the arrangements of any school by referring to the Office of Schools Adjudicator. Objections to admission arrangements for entry in September 2026 must be referred to the Adjudicator by 15 May 2025. Any decision of the Adjudicator must be acted on by the admission authority and admission arrangements amended accordingly.