How school admissions work in England
How to apply for a primary or secondary school place, the deadlines (31 October and 15 January), offer days, admission criteria, waiting lists and appeals.
Checked 18 October 2026 against the official sources listed at the end.
Secondary school applications close on 31 October. Primary applications close on 15 January. Check the details with your council each year.
How to apply
For a place at a state school at the usual starting age, follow your local council’s application process — even for schools in another council area. List schools in order of preference. “Listing only one school will not increase your chances of getting a place there.” You still need to apply even if the school is linked to your child’s nursery, infant or primary school.
Apply directly to the school or college for a sixth-form place, or for a private (independent) school.
Deadlines
- Secondary: applications usually open on 1 September. “You must apply for a secondary school place by 31 October.”
- Primary (Reception): apply a year before your child can start. Applications open in September “and close on 15 January”.
Offer days
Councils send offers on 1 March (secondary) and 16 April (primary), or the next working day if that date falls on a weekend or bank holiday. Accept by the deadline in your letter. If your child is offered none of your choices, the council must offer a place elsewhere, usually the nearest school with places.
Admission criteria
Criteria differ between schools. They may give priority for:
- living nearby;
- a brother or sister already at the school;
- religion (faith schools);
- an entrance exam (selective schools);
- a feeder school;
- pupil premium eligibility;
- a parent who has worked at the school for 2 years or more.
Children in care, and children who have been in care, get top priority. A school named in a child’s EHC plan must give them a place.
Distances on ABC Edu are straight lines from the centre of a postcode — not how councils measure for admissions.
Waiting lists
The admission authority must keep a waiting list open for at least the first term of each school year. You can join one even if you’ve accepted another place.
Appeals
- You can appeal against each refusal, once.
- You must get at least 20 school days to appeal, and 10 school days’ notice of the hearing.
- Appeals must be heard within 40 school days of the appeal deadline.
- An independent panel of 3 or more people decides, and you’re usually told within 5 school days.
- Infant classes (Reception to Year 2) are limited to 30 pupils, which narrows the grounds for appeal.
- Complaints about how an appeal was run go to the Local Government Ombudsman (maintained schools) or the DfE (academies and free schools).
If you think a school’s admission arrangements are unfair, you can complain to the Schools Adjudicator by 15 May of the year before you’re applying.
Starting school
Most children start Reception full-time in the September after they turn 4. Children must be in full-time education from compulsory school age: “31 December, 31 March or 31 August following their fifth birthday - whichever comes first”.
For a place during the school year (an in-year application), contact your local council.