School admissions: key dates for parents

School places in England are allocated through one national timetable. The deadlines are the same every year, and missing them genuinely reduces your chances, because on-time applications are considered first. This guide covers the dates for starting primary and secondary school, plus what to do about late applications, waiting lists and moving mid-year. This site is named after the biggest date of all: National Offer Day, when families find out which school place they have been offered. The timetable below is for England; Wales and Scotland run admissions differently, and the main differences are covered at the end.

The annual timetable

Stage	Secondary (Year 7)	Primary (Reception)
Applications open	Early September, the year before entry	Mid September, the year before entry
Application deadline	31 October	15 January
Offer day	1 March (National Offer Day)	16 April

If an offer day falls on a weekend or bank holiday, offers go out on the next working day. For children starting school in September 2027, that means applying by 31 October 2026 for secondary places (offers on 1 March 2027) and by 15 January 2027 for primary places (offers on 16 April 2027).

How applying works

You apply through the local authority where your child lives, not the one where the school is. Applications are made online through your council's admissions page, and you can name schools in other council areas on the same form. You list schools in order of preference, usually between three and six depending on your council. Always use all your preferences and always include at least one school you are likely to get into, because listing only long shots can leave you with a school you did not choose at all.

Dates that come earlier than you expect

• Grammar school tests. Selective schools test in the first weeks of September in Year 6, before the 31 October deadline, and registration for the test usually closes in June or July of Year 5. If you are considering a grammar school, check its test registration dates a full year before entry.
• Faith schools. Many ask for a supplementary information form, and some want evidence such as a reference from a religious leader. These often have their own deadlines alongside the council one.
• Open days. Most schools hold them in September and October for secondary and in the autumn and early spring for primary. Visiting is the single most useful thing you can do.

If you miss the deadline

Apply anyway, as soon as you can. Late applications are still processed, but only after every on-time application has been considered, so popular schools may already be full. Councils publish a cut-off date after which late applications are held over to the next allocation round. If you have just moved into an area, tell the council: many treat applications as on time where there is a good reason, such as a house move, with evidence.

After offer day

• Accept the offer by the stated deadline, usually about two weeks, even if you plan to appeal for a different school. Accepting does not weaken an appeal and it protects your child's place.
• Waiting lists are held for every oversubscribed school, ordered by the school's admission criteria rather than by when you joined. Places move more than most parents expect between March and September. Lists must be kept at least until the end of the first term.
• Appeals are a statutory right if your child is refused a place. See our guide to admission appeals.

Moving at other times

Outside the normal entry years you apply directly for an in-year place, through the council or sometimes the school itself. In-year applications can be made at any time, and the school or council must respond within 15 school days. Our data guide explains how to use OfferDay to shortlist schools before you apply.

Wales and Scotland

The single national timetable above is an England arrangement. Wales and Scotland run their own systems, so always check the deadlines on your own council's website rather than assuming the English dates.

• Wales. Local authorities handle admissions under the School Admissions Code for Wales, and you apply through the council where you live. The broad shape is similar to England, with autumn deadlines for secondary places and winter deadlines for primary, but there is no single Wales-wide offer day: each council sets and publishes its own application deadline and offer date. The infant class size limit of 30 applies, and parents have the same right to appeal a refused place.
• Scotland. The system works the other way round. Every child has a designated catchment school and is offered a place there automatically, so there is no application to make if the catchment school suits you. To ask for a different school you make a placing request to the council. Councils run an annual round, usually inviting requests by around the middle of March for a place the following August and replying by 30 April, and you can also make a placing request at other times. If a placing request is refused, you can appeal to an education appeal committee, with a further right of appeal to the sheriff.