School admissions frequently asked questions

Whether you are applying for a place in Reception Year for September (Primary Transfer Group) and your child is a summer born or applying to change school (In Year), if you want to ask for a delay, please read the information below.

A guide to reception admissions | Cambridgeshire County Council

Most of our schools use a catchment area within their over-subscription criteria. A catchment is a defined geographical area surrounding a school, where most pupils will live and from which a school will usually take most of its pupils.

You can use our interactive map to view the catchment areas for Cambridgeshire schools.

A school admissions application can only be considered from your child’s home address. This is the address where your child will be living when they are allocated a place and where your child will be mainly living when they start their school place.

If your child lives at more than one address:

• their main residence will be where they spend the majority of their school nights (Sunday to Thursday)
• if they divide their time equally between two addresses further evidence will be required to identify the child's home address.

• Catchment areas affect eligibility for school transport travel assistance.
• Occasionally, a child's home address may be in the catchment area for a school in a neighbouring Local Authority. If you are a Cambridgeshire resident you will still make your application through the Cambridgeshire School Admissions team.
• Some schools have extended catchments for school admissions purposes beyond the areas recognised for home to school travel assistance. Some church schools also admit children from a wider area than their defined catchment area on religious grounds. Please refer to the school’s directory listing for more information.
• Living within the catchment area of a school does not guarantee your child a place if the school is over-subscribed. The School Admissions Code ensures places are allocated in a fair and transparent way.

For school place allocations, distances are calculated by measuring a straight line. When assessing eligibility for home to school travel assistance, distances are measured by the shortest available walking route.

All measurements are calculated digitally, from the reference point of the home address (as determined by ‘OS AddressBase Premium’) to the reference point of the primary school or the nearest school gate of the secondary school. For families who live outside of Cambridgeshire, distances are determined using a combination of local maps and on-line resources.

It is very important that the address you give on your child’s application will be your child’s permanent or main residence at the time school places are allocated. This should also be the address where your child will be living when they start school in September.

We will automatically verify your child’s home address against the information held by your child’s current (Cambridgeshire maintained) school. We recommend you contact your school before making your application, to check they have the right address. If the information they hold is out of date your application may be considered from the wrong address. This could stop you being offered a place at your preferred school.

Where we cannot automatically verify your address, or your child's address is not clear

For example:

• your child is not attending a Cambridgeshire maintained school
• you are applying based on a future house move
• your child lives at multiple households

You must provide supporting evidence and indicate this on your application form. For more information on the above situations, see the information on our Apply for a school place pages.

This is explained in more detail on the apply for a school place pages. These three elements have a role in how we allocate places in relation to your three preferred schools. 

Some schools require the completion of a Supplementary Information Form (SIF). This is used to help the Governing Body / Trust to consider your application fully, in accordance with the school’s oversubscription criteria.

In Cambridgeshire, St Bede’s Inter Church School is currently the only secondary school that requires a SIF. If you wish your child to be considered under the school’s religious criteria, you must complete a St Bede's SIF, and return it to the school.

Do you share parental responsibility of your child with another adult who lives at a different address? If so you should discuss and agree on school preferences, before making a single joint application application.

If more than one applications is received, or we are made aware of a dispute between parents, all applications will be placed on hold. We will not continue processing the application until:

• one joint application is made, signed by all parties; or
• written agreement is provided from both parents; or
• a court order is confirms which parent's application carries precedence.

If your child lives at more than one address:

• their main residence will be where they spend the majority of their school nights (Sunday to Thursday)
• if they divide their time equally between two addresses, further evidence will be required to identify the child's home

Further information can be found - SEND Information Hub (Local Offer) (cambridgeshire.gov.uk)

If your child has an Education, Health and Care Plan, you should not make your application using the process on this page.

Your child's SEN Casework Officer will explain the application process to you.
If you have any queries, please contact the Statutory Assessment Team.

• Telephone: 01480 372600
• Email: SAT@cambridgeshire.gov.uk 

You must make a separate application for each child. Please refer to all children on all application forms so we can try to ensure that these children are offered places together.

When applying you will need to indicate which of the options below apply to you. You will also need to attach the required evidence to the application form.

Foster carers (children in Local Authority care)

Discuss your application with the child’s assigned social worker before applying.

Applications made on behalf of children in public care will not be processed until a social worker’s signature is received.

Children who were previously in care

These children will be given higher priority within every Cambridgeshire school’s over-subscription criteria. Ideally you should provide the contact details of the social worker who was assigned to your child’s case.

You must also provide evidence to support this request. We will accept any of the following:

• adoption certificates / orders that reference section 12 of the Adoption Act;
• adoption certificates / orders that reference Section 46 of the Children’s Act;
• any Child Arrangement Order;
• a Special Guardianship Order that mentions Section 14A;
• any residence order issued prior to 22 April 2014;
• written confirmation from an involved council employee (ideally the assigned Social Worker).

This includes:

• families of service personnel with a confirmed posting to Cambridgeshire
• crown servants returning from overseas to live in Cambridgeshire

Please indicate on your application that you are serving personnel.

We can allocate a place before you move to Cambridgeshire. Your application must include an official MOD letter or Posting/Assignment Order confirming a relocation date, and a unit postal address or quartering area address. This meets the provisions of paragraph 2.18 of the School Admissions Code.

If you do not have evidence of a residential address before the closing date we will use the 'base' address. If you receive notification of your residential address please forward this to us at admissionsapplications@cambridgeshire.gov.uk.

If you are a Cambridgeshire resident you will make your application through Cambridgeshire County Council, even if you want to apply for a school outside of Cambridgeshire. Check you are applying to the correct council.

Other local authorities may have different closing dates, supplementary forms or ID requirements. If you want to apply for a school outside of Cambridgeshire, it is essential that you view the school website to check the correct admission processes.

If your child's home address is outside Cambridgeshire, please check with the Local Authority where they live for details of how to apply. Check you are applying to the correct council.

1. If you move address during the admissions process, it is your responsibility to tell us immediately. You must tell us in writing and provide proof of your new address. Failure to do this may invalidate your current application.
2. If you want a school offer to be based on a future house move you must submit your application form, indicating the move on your form, and provide proof of the new address before applications are processed.
3. If you are moving from overseas and will be resident in Cambridgeshire for 6 teaching weeks or longer your child may be eligible for a secondary school place. Department for Education - guidance for schools on school admission and overseas students.

Acceptable proof of address

Proof of address provided must be in the name of the adult making the application. It should ideally be submitted with your application.

Evidence includes one or more of the following documents dated within three calendar months of your application:

• a copy of a rental agreement for a minimum of six school weeks signed and dated [by both the tenant and the landlord]
• a copy of the notice to quit (if returning to a property you own, that is currently tenanted).
• a letter from your solicitor confirming exchange of contracts on your new property you are purchasing stating a full postal address. Preferably with a completion date
• if you are moving in with a friend or relative we will need a letter from the friend/relative confirming that you are coming to stay with them (mentioning you all by full name) and we will also need to see a recent utility bill for the friend/relative dated within the last three months
• a copy of the notice to quit (if returning to a property you own, that is currently tenanted).
• Current Gas or Electricity Bill
• Tied/Work Accommodation with letter from employer

or

• a copy of your Council tax bill for the current year

Unable to provide proof of your new address before the application is processed?

• If your child currently attends a Cambridgeshire academy, foundation or voluntary aided school, your child's school place will be allocated based on the address held on record by the school.
• If you are unable to provide evidence of a future house move or address, where a school preference cannot be offered, positions on a waiting list may not be accurate until evidence has been received.

I cannot supply proof of address before the national closing date for admissions

Ideally your evidence should be submitted when you make your application. However it can be supplied after you have submitted your application. If we do not receive proof of your address before the deadlines below, your application will not be processed and no school offer will be made in the first round of allocations.

For Secondary Transitions

• If you are including a school outside of Cambridgeshire as one of your preferences, the latest you can supply your evidence is 22 November.
• For other applications the deadline is 1 December

For Primary Transitions

• If you are applying for any school, including a school outside of Cambridgeshire as one of your preferences, the latest you can supply your evidence is 31 January.

If you have locked yourself out of your online account please email the admissions team asking for your password account to be reset. You must email from address that was used to create the account.

If you are unable to or are still experiencing issues with logging into our online application process, you can request a copy of a paper application to complete. Please call our contact centre advisers on 0345 045 1370 who will assist and arrange for a copy to be sent to you via either email or via the post.

Our current application system, Citizen Portal, is open until 5pm on Wednesday 23 July 2025.

Due to a new school application system, you will be unable to apply for a school place from Wednesday 23 July at 5pm until Tuesday 26 August 2025. For more information on the planned maintenance please visit apply for a school place.

The application can only be considered from your child’s home address. This is the address where your child will be living when they are allocated a place.

If your child lives at more than one address:

• their main residence will be where they spend the majority of their school nights (Sunday to Thursday)
• if they divide their time equally between two addresses further evidence may be required to identify the child's home address

Only one application must be submitted. If more than one application is received, or we are made aware of a dispute between parents, we will place all applications on hold until:

• one joint application is made, signed by all parties; or
• written agreement is provided from both parents; or
• a court order is obtained confirming which parent's application carries precedence

We check home addresses as part of the application process. If an application is found to be fraudulent we will withdraw the place.

If you want an allocation to be made based on your new address, please provide evidence of your address. If a school is full and this is not provided it may affect the schools we are able to offer and the position your child will be placed on any reserve lists.

Proof of address must be in the name of the person making the application.

We require a 'copy' of one of the following documents:

(You can send a digital copy, scan or take a photo of it - file types accepted include: jpeg; pdf; docx; png;).

Your Council Tax bill for the current year

Documents below must be dated within three calendar months

• A rental agreement for a minimum of six school weeks signed and dated by both the tenant and the landlord
• A letter from your Solicitor confirming exchange of contracts on the new property you are purchasing stating the full postal address. Preferably with a completion date.
• If you are moving in with a friend or relative we will need a letter from the friend/relative confirming that you are coming to stay with them (mentioning you all by full name) and we will also need to see a recent utility bill for the friend/relative dated within the last three months.
• Current Gas or Electricity Bill
• Tied/Work Accommodation with letter from employer

We will withdraw school places which have been gained using false information or documentation.

As well as providing proof of your address (see previous question), you may also need to attach a 'copy' of one of the following documents as proof of age.

• The child’s birth certificate or
• The child’s passport (this must be valid) or
• European Economic Area (EEA) Identity cards

If a school is oversubscribed and cannot offer your child a place, they will add your child to a waiting list. This means your child may be accepted if a place becomes available.

Children are added to the list in the order of the school's oversubscription criteria. If there are multiple children who meet the same criteria, those who live closest to the school will be higher up the list.

Your child will remain on a waiting list, until:

• you are offered a place by an independent appeal panel;
• a place becomes available;
• you are offered a place at a school you ranked as a higher preference but were previously refused due to oversubscription; or
• you submit a new application.

Your child’s name will remain on the school’s waiting list until the end of the academic year. You will then need to submit a new application for a place.

Every school has a limited amount of places called the Published Admission Number (PAN). The number of students a school can accept depends on the school's size and layout. Oversubscription criteria are rules on how to offer places when the school receives too many applications.

Different schools use different criteria, for example some prioritise religious belief. Find out more on researching schools and catchments page.

If we have not been able to offer your first preference school, we will send information on the appeals process in your offer letter. We also have a web page explaining our appeals process.

The Fair Access Protocol ensures that vulnerable children get a place as soon as possible.

1. If we can meet your first preference, we will offer your child a place at that school.
2. If we cannot meet your first preference but can meet your second preference, we will offer your child a place at that school. Your child’s name will then be added to the waiting list of your first preference school.
3. If we cannot meet your second preference, but can meet your third preference, we will offer your child a place at that school. Your child’s name will be added to the waiting list for your first and second preference schools.

If we cannot meet any of your preferences, we will offer your child a place at your catchment school if;

• you have not already expressed it as a preference; and
• there are places available at the school.

Alternatively a place will be allocated at the nearest school where a place is available. Your child’s name will be added to the waiting list of all your preferred schools.

A school day is when a child is expected to be in attendance at school. This is usually within the term times set and a school day also excludes bank holidays and teacher training days not included in the term dates.

Think carefully before moving your child from their current school:

• Each school teaches the National Curriculum in different ways and at different times of the academic year. Your child may miss out on or repeat parts of the curriculum at the new school, which will have a significant impact on their learning.
• If your child is in Key Stage 3 it may not be possible for the school to immediately place your child into the most appropriate class group for their abilities. Additionally your child may not be able to take the same subjects at a new school, or choose the same options if they are in Year 9, so previous work might be wasted.
• If your child is in Key Stage 4 they may lose the work they have already done if they can't study the same exam course/subject at the new school.
• Starting a new school, means a settling in period where you child will need to learn new rules, ethos and expectations, get to know new teachers and make new friends. You will also need to purchase new uniform including PE kit.
• Other siblings will have no automatic right to transfer to the new school, either now or in the future. If the school is not your catchment school, you will be responsible for getting your child to and from school. If siblings go to other schools getting them all to school at the same time may be harder.

Before you apply

Many issues that worry parents/carers and children can be put right without the need to move schools. Before you consider changing your child’s school, we recommend that you reflect and discuss the move with your child’s tutor/head of year or head teacher prior to making an application.

• Have you sat down with your child to talk about the points raised here and to find out how they really feel about moving to a new school?
• What is the real reason why your child wants move schools? If they are worried about certain subjects, have you spoken to the subject teachers who teach your child to find out how they are getting on?
• If your child needs extra help or has needs that aren’t being recognised, have you spoken to the teacher in charge of special needs (SENCO)?
• If there are concerns about bullying, friendship issues, or teaching speak to your child's class teacher or Head of Year. You can find more information on support for bullying online.

If you are not happy about the way the school is working with your child you should speak to the head teacher. All schools have a complaints policy which will set out how to raise your concerns and what steps the school will take to help resolve them.

If your child has a Statement of Special Educational Needs or an Education, Health and Care Plan, you will need to contact the Statutory Assessment Team instead of following the usual in-year admissions process.

Statutory Assessment Team
Box SCO2209
Scott House
Huntingdon
PE29 3AD
Telephone: 01480 372 600
Email: SAT@cambridgeshire.gov.uk

These children get priority in admissions arrangements under the School Admissions Code.

A child is looked after by a local authority if a court has granted a care order to place a child in care, or a council’s children’s services department has cared for the child for more than 24 hours. Applications for looked after children must be made by the Social Worker involved with the child or documentation attached to your application to say that their Social Worker is in agreement with the application.

A previously looked after child is defined as a child who following being looked after became subject to:

• an Adoption Order under the Adoption Act 1976 or Section 46 of the Adoption and Children Act 2002
• a Residence or Child Arrangement Order under Section 8 of the Children Act 1989 and amended by Section 12 of the families Act 2014
• Special Guardianship Order under Section 14a of the Children Act 1989

For previously looked after children you will need to provide evidence that they were previously looked after and attach this to your application.

You will need to provide evidence of a house move as detailed in the document evidence accepted (see FAQs on the making an application page). If you are unable to provide proof of your new address we will be unable to process your application until this has been received.

If we're not able to offer you a place at one of your preferred schools, we will try to offer you a place at the next nearest school to your new address with availability (subject to proof of address).

In the UK, the law says children must be receiving an education between the school term after their fifth birthday and the last Friday in June in the school year they turn 16.

If you are moving from overseas, temporarily or permanently, your child may be eligible for a school place. We may ask to see evidence of your new address and child’s age to ensure that they are placed in the correct chronological age group.

Your child must be:

• aged between 4 and 16
• intending to attend a Cambridgeshire school for at least 30 school days

If you are applying for year 11 school place between April and May, due to GCSE exams and study leave you may not be offered a school placement we may need to explore alternative provisions.

We only process applications for Cambridgeshire (but not Peterborough) state schools. We do not manage admissions for independent (fee paying) schools.

• Information on standard visitor visa
• Information on study visa

We can allocate a school place in advance if you provide an official government letter stating your relocation date and intended address. We will accept a unit postal address or a quartering area address for applications from service personnel in the absence of a new postal address. You will need to attach this documentation to your online application.