Admission to primary and secondary schools is not automatic. All schools have 'admissions ' which the school's admission authority uses to allocate places if they receive more applications than they have places available.
How schools allocate places
Every child aged between five and 16 is entitled by law to a place at a state school. Wherever possible you will be offered a place at one of your preferred schools, but this can't be guaranteed.
Many schools receive more applications than they have places to offer. Every school has an admissions limit, and this determines the number of applicants they will accept.
Admissions
Every school has a set of rules, known as the 'admissions' or ' oversubscription' criteria. Schools that are oversubscribed will follow these rules when allocating places. Admissions criteria are set by the school's admission authority.
State schools
- the local authority (for 'community' or 'voluntary controlled' schools); or
- the school's governing body (for 'foundation' or 'voluntary aided' schools)
Independent schools
Independent schools decide their own admission criteria.
See 'Types of school' to find out more about different types of school.
Find out about the criteria before you apply
It's very important to find out what admissions criteria local schools use before you choose which schools to apply to.
Details of admissions criteria, along with figures showing the number of applications schools received the previous year, are listed in school prospectuses. This information is also available in the 'Information for Parents' booklet produced by your local authority.
Admissions criteria will vary from area to area and from school to school, but the School Admissions Code requires them to be clear, fair and objective. The code also has a list of admissions criteria that state-funded schools are not allowed to use.
Objecting to unlawful admission arrangements
If you think that an admission authority has unlawful admission arrangements you can object to the Schools Adjudicator. Objections must be made between 1 May and 31 July regarding entry in September the following year.
You can make the objection yourself or contact your local authority School Admissions Team to object on your behalf. Information about what you can object to and the form you will need to complete are available on the Office of the Schools Adjudicator website.
Submitting your application
For information on how to submit your application for a school place, together with details of key headlines, see 'Apply for a school place'.