Primary school admissions: the timeline and how to apply
Primary school admissions in England: the Reception timeline, the 15 January deadline, offer day, infant-to-junior transfer, waiting lists, and appeals.
Primary school admissions in England run on a fixed timeline: you apply for a Reception place in the autumn before your child starts, name your preferred schools in order, and find out the result in the spring. The single date that matters most is the 15 January deadline. This guide sets out the primary timeline step by step, how Reception places are decided, what happens on offer day, and the points specific to primary, including summer-born starts and the move from infant to junior school.
When to apply for primary school
You apply in the autumn before your child starts Reception, during the academic year in which they turn 4. At the point you apply, your child is usually 3 or has just turned 4. The calendar is national, though councils open their systems on slightly different dates.
| Stage | Date |
|---|---|
| Applications open | usually September |
| Deadline to apply | 15 January |
| National offer day | 16 April |
Offer day moves to the next working day if it falls on a weekend or bank holiday. Apply in good time and always before 15 January, because late applications are usually dealt with after the on-time ones, which can cost you a place at a popular school. Applying earlier than another on-time applicant does not give you priority, but it leaves time to visit schools and sort any extra forms.
How to apply
The mechanics are the same as for any state school place, so this is the short version. For the full detail of preferences, the equal preference system, and oversubscription, see our guide to school admissions in England.
- Apply through your home local authority, the council where your child lives, on its application form, usually online and with a paper form available if you need one, even for academies and faith schools in other areas.
- Name your preferred schools in genuine order of preference. Councils must let you name at least three, and some areas allow up to six.
- Submit any supplementary information form a school's arrangements require, in addition to the council form.
- Apply by 15 January and keep your confirmation.
Naming several realistic preferences can only help you. Each school considers your child against its own criteria without seeing your ranking, so a sensible lower preference is a safety net that cannot cost you a higher choice.
How Reception places are decided
When a primary school has more applicants than places, it offers places by its published oversubscription criteria. Children with an education, health and care plan that names the school are admitted first, and looked-after and previously looked-after children come top of the criteria. After that, schools commonly rank by siblings already at the school, distance, a catchment or priority area, faith, or a feeder link, in an order each admission authority sets.
For many schools, distance or a catchment area decides the borderline places, though the published criteria always control, so it is worth being realistic about how close you live. Our guide to school catchment areas explains how the cut-off is set each year and how to read a school's last distance offered.
After offer day
On national offer day, 16 April or the next working day if it falls on a weekend or bank holiday, you receive one offer, for the highest preference your child qualified for. From there you have three things to do.
- Accept the place by the deadline in your offer letter, or it can be withdrawn.
- Join the waiting list for any school you preferred over the one offered. Lists are ranked by the school's criteria, not by how long you have waited, so your position can move either way. Our guide to how school waiting lists work covers what to expect.
- Appeal if you are refused a place you wanted. You can be on a waiting list and appeal at the same time. Reception, Year 1, and Year 2 classes are usually capped at 30 pupils, so infant class size appeals succeed only on narrow grounds, such as the place being refused because of a mistake.
Starting age, deferral, and summer-born children
Most children start Reception in the September after they turn 4. You do not have to send a four-year-old full-time, and summer-born children, born between 1 April and 31 August, do not have to start until the September after they turn 5. You can ask to be admitted to Reception out of the normal age group, and the admission authority decides each case. The timing of these requests matters, so raise them early. Our guide to when your child starts school walks through the options and the calculator.
Moving up: the infant to junior transfer
In most areas a primary school runs all the way from Reception to Year 6, and your child simply moves up to Year 3 with no new application. Some areas split this into a separate infant school, ending at Year 2, and a junior school for Years 3 to 6. If your child is at an infant school, you must apply for a Year 3 junior place, usually by the same 15 January deadline; councils such as Birmingham set out the process.
A linked junior school often gives priority to children from its partner infant school, but priority is not the same as a guarantee, so check the junior school's admission arrangements rather than assuming an automatic move.
How FindMySchool helps
A strong Reception application comes down to a realistic, well-ranked preference list, and that is what FindMySchool helps you build. We cover more than 25,000 school profiles, with FMS Inspection scores and catchment distance data where available, so you can judge which primary schools are within reach before you apply.
- Use the school search and the map to find primary schools near you and see how close they are.
- Check each school's last distance offered and our catchment guide so your preferences are realistic.
- Read the full school admissions guide for the equal preference system, and when your child starts school if you are weighing a summer-born start.
Before you submit, do three things: confirm the 15 January deadline, rank your true preferences with at least one school where the criteria and recent distance data make a place look realistic, and send any supplementary forms a school requires. That gives your child the best chance of a primary place you will be happy with.
Frequently asked questions
You apply in the autumn term of the year before your child starts Reception, when they are 3 or have just turned 4. Applications usually open in September and the national deadline is 15 January, with offers made on 16 April.