How to choose the right school in England

The right school is the one where your child will do well and feel they belong, and that you have a realistic chance of getting a place at. To find it, start with what your child needs, build a shortlist of schools you can actually get into, read the inspection and results evidence carefully, visit, then rank your preferences in true order and apply on time.

This guide covers each step for primary and secondary schools, state and independent, with a short section on sixth form.

The system works better than its reputation. For September 2026 entry, 92.4% of primary applicants and 83.6% of secondary applicants were offered their first preference, and 98.7% and 96.4% were offered one of the schools they named. London families are the least likely to get their first choice, so where you live shapes how carefully you need to plan.

The process at a glance

1. Work out what matters for your child. Personality, interests, needs, and how far they can reasonably travel.
2. Build a realistic shortlist. Nearby schools, schools you have priority for, and at least one you are very likely to get.
3. Read the evidence. Inspection reports, exam and test results, and the school's own policies.
4. Visit. Ideally once on an open day and once on a normal school day.
5. Check your real chance of a place. Oversubscription criteria, distance, faith and selection.
6. Apply and rank in true order. Use every preference you are allowed, and meet the deadline.

Step 1: Work out what matters for your child

League tables answer the question "which school gets the best results?" The more useful question is "which school would get the best from my child?" A highly academic, fast-paced school can suit a self-motivated child and overwhelm an anxious one. Before you look at any data, talk it through at home, and include your child if they are old enough.

Things worth deciding early:

• Journey. A long daily commute costs sleep, homework time and friendships near home. For most children, a good school close by beats a slightly "better" one an hour away.
• Pastoral care. How the school looks after children who are struggling, worried or being unkind to each other. The behaviour and anti-bullying policies say a lot about a school's values.
• Curriculum. At secondary, check which GCSE options are offered and whether your child could take the combination they want. At primary, look at how much time goes to music, sport, languages and the outdoors.
• Clubs and activities. Not just the list, but whether clubs actually run all year and who can join.
• Family practicalities. Breakfast and after-school care, siblings, and how you will manage drop-off.

For younger children, our guide on how to choose the right primary school goes into more detail.

Step 2: Build a realistic shortlist

Start with the schools near you, then widen out. Search for schools near you to see state and independent schools on a map, with inspection outcomes and results on each profile.

Most families choose between a few kinds of state school:

The type matters mainly because it tells you who sets the admissions policy. That policy decides who gets in when there are more applicants than places.

A good shortlist mixes ambition with realism: the schools you would love, plus schools where you have strong priority under their admissions rules. If you would like a personalised starting point, School Match suggests schools based on your priorities and location. It needs a free FindMySchool account, your top match on your first search is free, and there is a primary version too.

Step 3: Read the evidence properly

Ofsted report cards

Ofsted inspects state schools in England. Since 10 November 2025 it has used report cards instead of a single overall grade. The old headline words (Outstanding, Good, Requires Improvement, Inadequate) are no longer given to state schools.

A report card grades a school on a five-point scale in each evaluation area that applies to it:

The graded areas are inclusion, curriculum and teaching, achievement, attendance and behaviour, personal development and wellbeing, leadership and governance, and, where the school has them, early years and post-16 provision. Safeguarding is judged separately as met or not met.

How to read one:

• Check safeguarding first. "Not met" is a serious finding.
• Look at the areas that matter for your child. Inclusion if your child has special educational needs, attendance and behaviour if calm classrooms matter to you, post-16 if you want them to stay on.
• Read the words, not just the colours. The narrative explains what inspectors saw and what the school needs to improve.
• "Expected standard" is not a warning. It means the school is doing everything it should.

Ofsted says the new grades cannot be compared with the old ones, so do not treat a school's report card and a neighbour's older report as like for like.

Older Ofsted reports

Many schools have not yet had a report-card inspection. Their latest report is the one to read, with some care:

• Graded inspections between September 2024 and November 2025 gave separate grades for quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, and leadership and management, but no overall grade.
• Reports from before September 2024 still show the single-word grade given at the time.

Check the date. A report several years old may describe a school with a different head, different staff and a different intake. Read the latest reports on the Ofsted reports site. For more on how report cards affect school choice, see Ofsted ratings explained.

ISI reports for independent schools

Independent schools that belong to a recognised association are inspected by the Independent Schools Inspectorate (ISI). Other independent schools are inspected by Ofsted, which checks the independent school standards and, since January 2026, publishes report cards for them too.

ISI reports give no overall grade. They set out how far the school meets the required standards, including safeguarding, describe strengths and weaknesses, and may name "significant strengths". Read the summary first, then look for any standards that are not met and any recommended next steps.

Exam and test results

Results tell you something real, but only about past cohorts. Use them to spot schools that are consistently strong or consistently weak, not to split hairs between two good schools.

Progress measures compare pupils with others nationally who started from a similar point, so they say more about what a school adds than raw grades do. A school with a very able intake can post high grades while adding little.

Look at results for disadvantaged pupils and, if relevant, pupils with special educational needs. They show whether a school works for everyone, not only those who arrive ahead. Our guide to understanding school performance tables explains each measure, and our methodology sets out how FindMySchool turns inspection and results data into rankings.

School finances

For state schools, the government's Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool lets anyone compare the spending of schools, academies and trusts in England. A school with stretched finances may find it harder to keep smaller groups, clubs or support staff. It is one clue among many, and some schools do a great deal with tight budgets.

Step 4: Visit

Open days and normal days

Open days are useful, and they are also a school at its most polished. You hear the head, see the buildings and meet pupils chosen to show you round. If you can, also ask to visit during an ordinary school day. Many schools offer tours by appointment. You will see real lessons, real corridors and real lunchtimes.

What to notice:

• Corridors and changeovers. Calm and purposeful, or chaotic?
• How staff speak to children. Warm and firm, or mainly about control?
• Pupils' work and displays. Current and valued, or old and faded?
• Toilets and shared spaces. Clean, stocked and private toilets show respect for pupils.
• Your guide's honesty. Ask what they would change about the school.

Questions worth asking

• How are classes grouped, and how big are they?
• What happens when a child falls behind, or is well ahead?
• How do you deal with bullying, and how do you tell parents?
• How many lessons are taught by subject specialists? (secondary)
• Which GCSE subjects can be combined, and are any capped? (secondary)
• What support is there for starting school or moving up to Year 7?
• What wraparound care do you offer, and does it have a waiting list? (primary)
• What are you working to improve, and how?

Pay attention to how the school answers the last one. Every school has weaknesses. Leaders who name theirs and explain what they are doing about them are usually the ones to trust.

Step 5: Check your real chance of a place

How places are given out

Every state school has a set number of places for each starting year. If it has fewer applicants than places, everyone who applies is offered one (grammar schools are the exception, because children must also pass the test).

If it is oversubscribed, the school ranks applicants using its published oversubscription criteria, in strict order. Looked-after and previously looked-after children must come first. After that, common criteria include:

• children with a brother or sister already at the school
• children living in the catchment area
• distance from home to school
• membership of a faith (faith schools)
• attendance at a named feeder school

Children whose education, health and care plan names the school must be admitted before any of this is applied.

Read the actual policy for every school on your shortlist. It is on the school's or council's website, and your council must publish a composite prospectus covering local schools by 12 September each year.

Catchment and distance

Living in a catchment area gives priority, not a guarantee. If more children in the catchment apply than there are places, some will miss out.

Each policy explains exactly how distance is measured: from which point at the school, to which point at your home, and whether it is a straight line or a route. Tie-breaks can come down to metres. Our guide to school catchment areas explains the detail.

Last distance offered

Many councils publish the distance from the school of the last child offered a place under the distance criterion. This is the most honest guide to your chances at a popular school. It changes every year with the number and location of applicants, so treat it as a guide, not a promise. FindMySchool school profiles show the last distance offered where we have the data.

Faith schools

Faith schools can give priority to families of their faith. Some ask for a supplementary information form, and some for evidence such as a baptism certificate or a letter from your place of worship. Read the faith criteria early, because some depend on attendance over a period of time.

Grammar schools and the 11-plus

Grammar schools admit children who pass an entrance test, usually called the 11-plus. Registration for the test often closes in the spring or early summer of Year 5, well before the main application opens, and tests are often taken in September of Year 6. For September 2027 entry, for example, Kent's registration ran from 1 June to 1 July 2026, and Buckinghamshire's from 1 May to 2 June 2026 for children not at a Buckinghamshire state primary (those children are registered automatically).

Schools must try to tell you the result before the secondary closing date, so you can decide how to rank your preferences. Passing does not guarantee a place: an oversubscribed grammar school still ranks qualifying children using its criteria. See the 11-plus explained.

Step 6: Apply and rank your preferences

Where and how to apply

You apply to your own council, where you live, even if the schools are in another council area. Applications for state schools are usually made online through your council's admissions website. Find your local council on GOV.UK.

Moving from a school nursery to Reception, or from an infant school to a junior school, needs a new application. A nursery place does not carry over.

How many schools you can name

In London, you can name up to six schools. Outside London, your council sets the number: it must be at least three, and most councils allow three. Use every preference you are given. Naming only one school does not improve your chance of getting it.

How to rank them

England uses an equal preference system. Each school ranks applicants against its criteria without knowing where you placed it on your form. Your ranking only decides which offer you receive if you qualify for more than one: you are offered the highest-ranked school that can take you.

So:

• Rank schools in the order you genuinely want them. Putting a school lower does not reduce your chance there, and putting it first does not raise it.
• Include at least one school you are very likely to get. Often that is your nearest school or your catchment school.
• Do not leave spaces empty. If none of your schools can offer a place, your council will usually offer one at a school that still has space, which may be one you would not have chosen.

Our step-by-step guide to school admissions in England covers the form in more detail.

Key dates for September 2027 entry

31 October 2026 falls on a Saturday, and a few councils have set a later closing date: Kent's is Monday 2 November 2026. Always check your own council's deadline. Late applications are usually considered only after on-time ones, which makes a place at a popular school much less likely.

For month-by-month timelines, see the secondary school admissions timeline and the primary school admissions timeline.

If you do not get your first choice

• Accept the offer you have. It keeps a place safe while you try for others.
• Join waiting lists. Schools must keep them until at least 31 December of the first school year, ranked by their oversubscription criteria, not by when you joined. Your position can go down as well as up.
• Consider an appeal. You have at least 20 school days from the date you are told your application was unsuccessful. Appeals are heard by an independent panel, not the school. For Reception, Year 1 and Year 2, where infant classes are limited to 30 pupils, appeals succeed only in narrow circumstances, such as the admission rules not being followed properly.

See how to appeal a school place for how to prepare.

Special educational needs

If your child has special educational needs or a disability (SEND), there are two levels of support to understand.

SEN support is help arranged by the school itself. Every mainstream state school must publish a SEN information report on its website, updated each year, explaining how it identifies and supports children with SEND and naming its SENCO (special educational needs coordinator). Read it before you visit. Then ask the SENCO directly how many children they support, how much of their time is set aside for the role, and what support looks like day to day for a child like yours.

An education, health and care (EHC) plan is for children who need more support than SEN support can provide. It is a legal document from your council. Getting a school place with an EHC plan is a separate process from the normal application: you can ask for a particular school to be named in the plan, and a school named in the plan must admit your child. If your child has, or may need, an EHC plan, contact your council's SEND team well before the admissions deadline. The council has up to 20 weeks from a request for assessment to issue a final plan.

The government set out proposed changes to the SEND system in February 2026. They are proposals, and it has said no changes to the support given by EHC plans will begin before September 2030.

Under Ofsted's report cards, inclusion is now graded as its own area, so newer reports give a clearer picture of how a school supports children with SEND.

Independent schools

Independent (private) schools set their own admissions, curriculum and fees, and you apply to each school directly, not through the council. Deadlines, entrance tests and interviews vary from school to school, and are often earlier than state school deadlines, so check each school's timetable in Year 5 or before.

Since 1 January 2025, fees for education and boarding at private schools have been subject to VAT at 20%. Many schools offer means-tested bursaries, which can reduce fees substantially for families who qualify, and scholarships for academic, music, sport or other strengths. Ask each school about both, and ask what the full cost includes: uniform, trips, lunches and exam fees can add up.

Judge an independent school with the same questions as a state school: fit, pastoral care, teaching and honest results. Smaller classes are common, but fees alone do not tell you whether a school is better for your child. Our comparison of state and independent schools covers the trade-offs.

Sixth form

In England, young people must stay in education or training until 18. That can mean a school sixth form, a sixth form college, a further education college, an apprenticeship, or part-time study alongside work or volunteering.

When choosing a secondary school, check whether it has a sixth form. A school with one offers continuity at 16. A school without one means another move, which suits some young people well.

Sixth form applications usually go directly to each school or college, not through the council, often in the autumn or early spring of Year 11. Each has its own entry requirements, and many courses set grade requirements of their own.

What to look at:

• the A level, T Level and vocational courses offered, and which combinations are possible
• value added and average grades for the type of course your child wants
• how many students complete their courses
• where students go next, which the performance tables report as destinations
• careers and university application support

Useful official resources

• Compare school and college performance: official results for schools and colleges in England
• Ofsted reports: full inspection reports for state schools and some independent schools
• Independent Schools Inspectorate: reports for association independent schools
• Get Information about Schools: official register of schools, with contact details and school type
• Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool: school and trust finances
• School admissions on GOV.UK: how to apply, admissions criteria and appeals
• Your council's admissions pages, for local deadlines, the composite prospectus and allocation data

Frequently asked questions

How do I find the right school for my child?

Decide what your child needs first, then shortlist schools you have a realistic chance of getting into. Read the latest inspection report and results for each, visit on an ordinary day if you can, check the admissions criteria and last distance offered, and rank your preferences in the order you genuinely want them.

How many schools can I apply for?

In London you can name up to six schools. Elsewhere your council sets the number, which must be at least three. Use every preference, and include at least one school you are very likely to be offered.

Does putting a school first improve my chances?

No. Schools rank applicants against their criteria without seeing your order. Your order only decides which offer you get if more than one school can offer you a place.

Does living in the catchment area guarantee a place?

No. Catchment gives priority, not a guarantee. If more children in the catchment apply than there are places, the school uses its next criterion, often distance, and some catchment children miss out.

How do I read Ofsted reports now that there is no overall grade?

Check that safeguarding is met, then look at the grades for the areas that matter to your child and read the narrative. "Expected standard" means a school is doing what it should. Older reports use a different system and cannot be compared directly with report cards.

When do I apply for a school place for September 2027?

For secondary, by 31 October 2026, with offers on 1 March 2027. For Reception, by 15 January 2027, with offers on 16 April 2027. Check your council's exact deadline, as a few set a later date when 31 October falls on a weekend.