The document below contains information on assessing the capacity of schools.
Assessing the capacity of schools
The capacity of a school is the number of pupil places it can accommodate. Department for Education statutory guidance describes the method of assessing the net capacity of maintained mainstream schools. For secondary schools, the net capacity is based on the number, size and type of teaching spaces, and includes a ‘utilisation factor’ (equivalent to the average proportion of time that any workplace is in use) linked to the age range of the school. The method also allows some flexibility to suit the inclusion of pupils with special educational needs and admission arrangements.
Published Admissions Number
The published admissions number (PAN) is the number of school places that the admission authority must offer in the age group at which pupils will normally be admitted to the school (Year 7).
A PAN of 240 is proposed for the amalgamated school to provide reasonable headroom over the anticipate demand for places, and as a multiple of 30 which is commonly applied.
Current PAN and net capacities
| School | Age range | PAN | Net capacity |
|---|---|---|---|
| Eskdale School | 11-16 | 110 | 550 |
| Caedmon College Whitby (Normanby and Scoresby sites) | 11-18 | 184 | 1530 |
Maximum PANs and net capacities
| School | Age range | Maximum PAN | Maximum net capacity |
|---|---|---|---|
| Eskdale School | 11-16 | 118 | 590 |
| Caedmon College Whitby (Normanby and Scoresby sites) | 11-18 | 258 | 1698 |
| Amalgamated School (Normanby site) | 11-16 | 225 | 1125 |
| Amalgamated School (Scoresby site) | 16-18 | N/A | 483 |
| Amalgamated School across Normanby and Scoresby sites | 11-18 | 258 | 1698 |
For further information visit the Department for Education and Skills website.
The site capacity for the amalgamated school age range 11-18 across the two sites differs from the total of the separate site capacities for 11-16 and 16-18 due to a different utilisation factor used in the net capacity calculation following the Department for Education statutory guidance. There may be some slight variation of capacities when final room usages are agreed.