Schools: Admissions Annette Brooke To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what his policy is on shared catchment areas for schools. Sarah McCarthy-Fry The School Admissions Code sets out the mandatory requirements for schools and local authorities when setting and administering catchment areas. The Code provides guidelines for doing this in a fair and practical way, as part of agreed local admissions policies. It is for schools and local authorities to ensure that catchment areas do not exclude disadvantaged groups, and provide access to local state schools on a fair and transparent basis.