In Year Admissions - Primary and Secondary Schools

How to apply for a school place during the school year September 2011 to July 2012 in a primary school year groups Reception to Year 6 and in a Secondary School Year 7 to Year 11.

If your child is in years Reception to Year 11 and you are looking for a school place because you have moved or are moving to the Reading Borough Council area or you already live in the area and want your child to attend an another school, you should complete the appropriate In Year Application Form at the bottom of the page. The application form must be returned to the Admissions Team and not to a school or another local authority.

If you live or will be living in Reading and are seeking a place at a school in another local authority you must still complete the application form below. The Admissions Team will pass your request to the Local Authority maintaining the school and co-ordinate the application process. You will be informed by Reading Borough Council whether a place is available at your preferred school.

As many schools are full it may not be possible to offer your child a place at your preferred school(s)  Please note, that living in the designated area of a school does not guarantee your child’s admission to that school, nor do you have to send your child to the designated area school. You can apply for any school and your application will be considered but if that school is full in your child’s year group it will not be possible to offer a place.  If there are more applicants than places available, the places will be allocated according to the over-subscription criteria of the school. These are explained the primary and secondary School Guides for parents and carers 2010-2011 which can be downloaded from the bottom of this page. A place will be offered at the nearest Reading school to your home address with vacancies.

The maximum time a child should be out of school is 20 school days but every effort will be made to place children as quickly as possible. It will help to ensure a place if found quickly if applications are submitted before you move to Reading. Applications can be considered for a maximum of six weeks in advance.

To check which is the designated area school for your home address you can enter your postcode on the School Search in the list on the left hand side of this page.

If it is not possible to offer your child a place at your preferred school(s) you are entitled to appeal. For more information on appeals, please click on the link on the right of this page.

Please note that if your child's name was on the waiting list of a school for years 1 -6 last academic year, they will not be on the waiting list for this year unless you have asked for them to go on new lists.

Some children will have particular needs for additional support or priorities for admission which will be discussed with the schools to ensure that the right place is provided. Such cases will include children who have been temporarily or permanently excluded from other schools; or children with challenging behaviour for whom a change of school is in their best interest. These cases will be referred to a panel of council officers and school representatives who will discuss the most appropriate provision. Places for these young people will be allocated according to Reading Borough Council’s Fair Access Protocol. This document can be downloaded from the bottom of this page.

If parents/carers would like to discuss any aspect of school admissions they should contact the Admissions Team from the contact information on the right of this page or come into the Civic Centre at any time during office hours and ask to see a member of the Admissions Team. Appointments can be made if that is preferred.

The Admissions Team is experiencing very high number of telephone enquiries and it may be difficult to contact the team by telephone. You will be informed as soon as possible the outcome of your application.

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