UK School Admissions Guide
Everything parents need to know about how school places are allocated in England — timelines, criteria, appeals, and how to use school data to make the right choice.
update Updated January 2025 · Source: DfE School Admissions Code 2021
Application Timelines
child_care Primary (Reception / Year R)
- September Applications open via your local council's admissions portal
- 15 January National deadline — apply by this date or be treated as late
- 16 April National Offer Day — offers emailed by your council
- 30 April Deadline to accept or decline your offer
school Secondary (Year 7)
- September Applications open. Grammar school tests also held this month
- 31 October National deadline for secondary applications
- 1 March Secondary National Offer Day
- 15 March Deadline to accept or decline your offer
Late applications are processed after all on-time applicants, even if you qualify under the first oversubscription criterion. Applying late significantly reduces your chances of getting a preferred school.
Oversubscription Criteria
When a school is oversubscribed — it receives more applications than its Published Admission Number (PAN) — it ranks all applicants by its published criteria. The order these criteria are applied in is critical. Common criteria, typically in this priority order:
Looked-after children (LAC) and previously looked-after children
This category always has the highest priority under the DfE Admissions Code. Includes children in local authority care and those adopted from care.
Children with an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) naming the school
If a child's EHCP names a specific school, that school must admit the child — outside of normal admissions.
Siblings of children already attending the school
A sibling must usually be at the school at the time your child starts. Half-siblings and step-siblings may count — check the individual school's policy.
Children of staff employed at the school
Only applies if the member of staff has been employed for 2+ years, or was recruited to fill a skills shortage.
Catchment area residents
Living in the school's defined catchment area. Catchment maps can change annually — always verify with the school or council.
Distance from home to school
Measured as the straight-line (crow-fly) distance from your home address to the school's main gate, unless the school specifies another method.
Catchment Areas
A catchment area is the geographic zone within which children receive priority for a school place. Understanding catchment is one of the most important — and misunderstood — parts of the admissions process.
Defined catchment vs. distance
Some schools use a fixed geographic catchment (e.g. a postcode boundary); others simply use straight-line distance from home to school. Distance-based schools have no fixed boundary — the catchment shrinks when the school is oversubscribed.
Last-admitted distance
SchoolsInfo shows the furthest distance at which a child was admitted in previous years (where available). This is the most practical indicator of whether your address is likely to be in range — but it varies each year.
Catchment changes annually
If a school gets more applicants this year, the last-admitted distance shrinks. Living inside last year's catchment does not guarantee a place this year. Always submit your application even if you think you're borderline.
Use the SchoolsInfo interactive map
Enter your postcode on our map to see all schools within a set radius, colour-coded by Ofsted rating. Click any school to see its admissions history — places offered, applications received, and success rate over multiple years.
map Open the School MapGrammar & Selective Schools
Around 163 grammar schools remain in England, concentrated in areas like Kent, Buckinghamshire, Lincolnshire, and parts of Greater London. Entry is by competitive test, usually in Year 5 or early Year 6.
quiz The 11+ Test
Tests are typically held in September of Year 6. Content varies by school and region — it usually includes verbal reasoning, non-verbal reasoning, mathematics, and English. There is no national 11+ syllabus; each grammar school or consortium sets its own test.
event Register early
Grammar schools require separate registration for the 11+ test — this is not done through the council's normal admissions portal. Registration deadlines are often in June or July of Year 5. Missing the registration deadline means your child cannot sit the test that year.
person Tutoring for the 11+
Many families engage tutors to prepare for the 11+. Preparation typically begins 12–18 months before the test. A good tutor can help your child become familiar with the question style and improve time management, but the tests are designed to test innate reasoning ability rather than learned content.
How to Appeal
If your child is refused a place at your preferred school, you have the statutory right to appeal to an independent appeals panel. Around 20–30% of infant class size (ICS) appeals and 30–40% of other appeals succeed each year.
Infant Class Size (ICS) Appeals
For Reception, Year 1, and Year 2, classes cannot exceed 30 pupils per teacher. This is a statutory limit. ICS appeals are harder to win — you must prove one of three things:
- close The admission authority made a mistake in applying its criteria
- close The decision was unreasonable in the legal sense (Wednesbury unreasonableness)
- close The admission authority's criteria were themselves unlawful
Other Appeals (Year 3+, Secondary)
For all other year groups, the panel uses a two-stage balancing test:
- check_circle Did the school follow its published admissions criteria correctly?
- check_circle Does the prejudice to your child outweigh the school's case for not admitting?
Strong grounds include: a medical reason the school is uniquely placed to address, a specialist resource only that school has, or evidence the admission authority applied criteria inconsistently.
Appeal timeline
- Step 1 Receive refusal letter → note the appeal deadline (usually 20 school days)
- Step 2 Submit written grounds of appeal to the admission authority
- Step 3 Receive the school's case (sent at least 7 days before hearing)
- Step 4 Attend the hearing — present your case to an independent panel
- Step 5 Decision within 5 school days — binding on both the school and the family
Using School Data to Choose
Ofsted ratings matter — but they tell only part of the story. Here's how to interpret the data you'll find on SchoolsInfo and other sources.
star Ofsted Rating
Outstanding, Good, Requires Improvement, or Inadequate. The rating reflects the inspection judgement at a point in time — often 4–5 years ago for stable schools. A "Good" school inspected last year may be stronger than an "Outstanding" one inspected 8 years ago. Check the inspection date.
trending_up Progress 8 (Secondary)
Progress 8 measures how much pupils improved between KS2 and GCSE relative to similar pupils nationally. A score of 0 is average; +0.5 means pupils did half a grade better per subject than expected; −0.5 means half a grade worse. It adjusts for intake, making it a fairer comparison than raw attainment scores.
percent KS2 Expected Standard (Primary)
The percentage of Year 6 pupils meeting the expected standard in reading, writing, and maths (RWM combined). The national average is around 60–65%. Context matters: schools with high FSM or EAL populations often show lower raw scores but strong value-added.
sentiment_satisfied Parent View
Ofsted's 14-question parent survey, completed during or before an inspection. Look especially at Q1 (child is happy), Q2 (child feels safe), Q3 (pupils are well behaved), and Q14 (would recommend). High scores across all four are a strong positive signal.
local_fire_department Admissions Demand
SchoolsInfo shows the ratio of applications to places offered over multiple years. A school with 3 applications per place is highly sought-after — you'll likely need to meet a close criterion (sibling, catchment, or distance). A school with 0.8 applications per place rarely refuses anyone — useful if you need a guaranteed fallback.
Admissions Checklist
Research 5–6 schools using Ofsted, Progress 8, and admissions data
Visit shortlisted schools in person (open days usually Oct–Nov)
Check last-admitted distances for each school in previous years
Confirm which admissions criteria your child qualifies under
For grammar schools: register for the 11+ test separately — check the deadline
Apply by the national deadline (15 Jan primary / 31 Oct secondary)
List all preferences — always use your full allocation (up to 6)
Include a safe "fallback" school you are confident of getting into
After offer: accept promptly and join waiting lists for preferred schools
If refused: appeal within 20 school days and request waiting list position