We have found the recent contact tree update on the Admissions Portal to be entirely unhelpful from an operational perspective. It is difficult to see what benefit this change has brought to the Admissions team, particularly when there are a number of existing areas within the system that require improvement.
For example, development time would have been far better spent addressing the issues around multiple document uploads within Documents and Files, which continues to be a significant limitation in our day-to-day work.
Similarly, the introduction of applicant photos on the Admissions Portal seems unnecessary. We already request passport copies and verify applicants' identities when they visit the school. Historically, photographs have only been required once a pupil has accepted a place and transitioned into Pupil Manager.
Introducing an additional process to collect and manage photographs at the enquiry or applicant stage appears to add administrative burden without providing any clear benefit, particularly when many applicants do not ultimately join the school. We therefore struggle to see the value this feature adds to the admissions process.
