Secondary school admissions - September 2023

Admissions process starts

• 12 September 2022- Applications open
• 31 October 2022 (midnight) - deadline for applications (national closing date)
  
• 1 March 2023 - Offers sent out to applicants who had submitted application by 31 October 2022

Late applications (second round)  

• 1 November 2022 - Second round applications open
• 31 March 2023 (midnight) - deadline for second round applications
• 27 April 2023 - Offers sent out to applicants who had submitted applications from 1 November 2022 to 31 March 2023.

Late applications (as received)

• 27 April 2023 to 31 August 2023 - Applications received after 31 March 2023 will not be considered until the second round of offers have been sent out. They will be processed in order of date from when we receive them.

Appeals

• April 2023
  Secondary school appeals take place

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: start@cambridgeshire.gov.uk

If you wish to apply for a school place that is not the schools year of entry within the school year (September 2022 to July 2023), please complete an in-year admission application

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 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).

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 your child does not currently attend a Cambridgeshire academy, foundation or voluntary aided school, your application will not be processed.
• If you are moving from overseas, your application will not be processed until satisfactory proof is 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.

• 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

It is our policy to admit children to the year group appropriate to their date of birth. In 'exceptional circumstances', your child may be able to start school a year earlier or later than would normally be the case.

A child coming from an educational system abroad, or who does not speak English as their first language, will not normally be considered as an exceptional circumstance. Support is available in all our schools within the correct year group for these children.

Do you share parental responsibility of your child with another adult who lives at at 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

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.