FAMILIES in Leicester who have children due to start primary, junior or secondary school next year can apply online for a school place from today, Monday 7 September. (will issue Monday 7 September).
Applications can be made online at www.leicester.gov.uk/admissions - but parents must ensure they apply before the deadline, or their application will be classed as late. Late applications are only dealt with after places have been allocated to everyone who applied on time.
Children who were born between 1 September 2016 and 31 August 2017 can take up a full-time place to start at a primary or infant school from the autumn term 2021. The deadline for applying is 15 January 2021.
Parents and carers of children who are due to transfer from an infant to a junior school next year will also need to apply by 15 January 2021.
Children attending a city school in year 6 will receive a letter this week which contains key information about secondary schools, including catchment area schools. They will need to apply for a secondary school place by the earlier deadline of 31 October this year.
Cllr Elly Cutkelvin, assistant city mayor responsible for education, said: “It’s really important to apply for your child’s school place before the deadline. There is lots of information available on our website that fully explains the admissions process.
“We know that starting or moving school can be an anxious time for families, so we try to make the applications process as straightforward as possible.
“You can list four preferences on the application form and we strongly advice all parents to choose four schools. Putting down only one school doesn’t increase your chances of getting in there – it just means that if that school is full, you will be allocated another school that you haven’t chosen.
“It’s also a really good idea to include your catchment area school as one of your preferences as your child will usually get priority for a place here. This means your child can still attend a local school if you don’t get a place at one of your other choices.”
Applying online means parents can log back into their application and change things if you change your mind – you just have to make sure the application is finalised and submitted by the deadline.
Residents will need to apply to their home local authority for a school place. Those who live in the city will need to apply to Leicester City Council. Those who live in Leicestershire will need to apply to Leicestershire County Council. Regardless of where you live, you can apply for any school in the city, county or further afield.
Last year, the city council received almost 4,800 on-time applications for a secondary school place with 95% of families securing a place at one of their four preferred secondary schools. Just under 85% of families secured a place at their first choice.
For primary entry, the city council received just under 4,500 on-time applications with 97% securing a place at one of their preferred schools and 91% securing their first choice.
Every applicant who applied on time was offered a school place.
For more information on how to apply, visit www.leicester.gov.uk/schooladmissions
The Choice Advice Service provides help with making an application and will be running free support sessions at a number of primary schools. More details can be found at https://choiceadvice.org.uk/
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