The primary school application deadline in 2025 has come around quickly not long after Christmas. Parents up and down the country will be sending off applications for their little ones, with around 100,000 made each year.
In London, al 33 of the boroughs work together to coordinate primary school admissions.
MyLondon has put together a guide on some of the most common primary school application questions to make sure you’re clued up ahead of the upcoming deadline.
When is the admissions deadline?
This year the admissions deadline is Wednesday, January 15, 2025. Parents will have until 11.59pm on this day to apply for a school place if applying online.
Those applying with a paper form will need to make sure it is received by the admissions team by 5pm on the same day.
When can I expect to hear back?
Applicants can expect to hear back about admissions on National Offer Day – April 16, 2025.
Parents who have applied online will receive an email notification during the evening, while those who applied by paper will be sent a letter in the post on April 17 if they haven’t provided an email address as well.
How do I apply?
You can either apply online or using a paper form
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You can apply using a paper form or online. The link to the online application form will be on our borough council’s website. Find your relevant link here via the government website.
Alternatively, you can apply using a paper form. These are available from the admissions team and not from primary schools.
You will need to provide details of your child’s home circumstances, additional needs, school preferences and more. Only naming one or two places on the form could limit the chances of your child being offered a Primary School place.
How does the London admissions system work?
Under the Pan-London Co-ordinated Admissions System, parents will need to list all the schools they want to apply for on their home local authority’s common application form, ranked in order of preference.
This is because only one offer will potentially be made and this will be for the highest-ranking school able to do this.
The local authorities will co-ordinate the offer of places to make sure no child is offered more than one school place and schools will not be told where they are listed on the application form or other schools applied for. The decision on whether a place can be offered will still be made by the Admission Authority for each school.
When schools are oversubscribed, they will use their ‘admissions criteria’ to prioritise places. If more than one school is able to offer a place, the local authority will keep the highest-ranking offer and release all of the lower preference offers so they can be given to other students.
What happens if I apply late?
If you apply late without a valid reason, your child’s name will only be considered after National Offer Day. This means that they will be added to waiting lists, alongside unsuccessful candidates, in the initial allocation round.
Where there is an exceptional reason for late applications, if they are received by February 11, they may be considered with those that were on time. Other circumstances will be considered on a case-by-case basis.
Can I change or withdraw my preferences after I have submitted my application?
The admissions deadline is fast-approaching
(Image: Getty Images)
Applicants will be able to change their preferences up until Wednesday, January 15, 2025. After this closing date, it isn’t normally possible to accept changes, although parents can advise the admissions team of their local borough council.
New or changed preferences will normally be looked at after all other applications have been considered.
What if I’m moving house?
Parents will need to make sure they have included their child’s current home address on the close of the application on Wednesday, January 15, 2025. If you move after submitting your application, you will need to inform the admissions team within two weeks of your move so that your application is considered using the correct address.
It is also important to remember that parents shouldn’t use any other addresses on their application forms such as business addresses, those of a childminder or a relative.
Got a story? Please get in touch at katherine.gray@reachplc.com