Applications for a school place, for children aged between 5 and 16 during the school year are referred to as in-year admissions.
General advice
To apply for years 0 to 6 Primary, Infant and Junior School
As permitted by law parents can make an application at any time to any school outside the normal admissions.
The Admissions Team can advise of availability of places across the city, you can email us at School Admissions.
For admissions for September 2023, further information will be available on the website on how to apply in early July. Please check back then for further details.
For admissions for September 2022, parents/carers can apply online.
Where places are available applicants will be offered.
In some cases where a child is already on a school roll locally the place may be offered for the start of the next term.
Applications in the current school year are processed within a maximum of 15 school days and applicants are notified in writing, usually via email.
Where there are no places applicants will be refused a place but will be advised of other vacancies where children are without a local school place.
Pupils that are refused a place and added to the waiting list and remain on the waiting list until 30 June of any given year.
Waiting lists are ranked according to the admission criteria for the school according to the published admission criteria for 2022, which are available in the Primary Admissions Booklet 2022.
Waiting lists close on 30 June of any given year and new waiting lists are created for the next academic year (from the applications for the next school year).
Waiting lists from previous years are not rolled over to the next. Parents wishing to continue on a waiting list for a following year are required to make a fresh application.
Applications are shared with the allocated school and with a school that is a preference and is its own admission authority.
Parents can apply for the next school year anytime in the summer term, i.e. after Easter of any given year and not before.
Applications for the next school year are processed in the late summer months and outcomes are communicated in the early Autumn term at the latest.
Applicants are advised of the right of appeal in the outcome letter.
The appeal timeline and details are provided online.
To apply for years 7-11 Secondary Schools
The Admissions Team can advise of availability of places across the city, you can email us at School Admissions.
Application forms are available directly from secondary schools. Once completed application form/s should be returned directly to the school/s.
In the situation you are not able to find an application form, please use this form and email it to the Admission Team. The Admissions Team will forward your application to your preferred schools.
General helpful notes for secondary in-year admissions
As permitted by law parents can make an application at any time to any school outside the normal admissions.
Where places are available applicants will be offered however, this does not apply to selective places such as for the grammar schools or the selective places at the partially selective schools. Please look at the grammar schools admissions policy for details.
Where there are no places applicants will be refused and can join the waiting list for the school. This is different for the selective schools and selective places.
Waiting lists are ranked according to the admission criteria for the school. In some cases where a child is already on a school roll locally the place may be offered for the start of the next term.
Applications in the current school year are processed within a maximum of 15 school days, applications for the next school year are processed in the late summer months and outcomes are communicated in the early Autumn term at the latest.
Pupils that are refused a place and added to the waiting list.
As required by the School Admissions Code parents will be notified within 15 school days of the outcome of their application and will be sent a written outcome, with a reminder of the right of appeal, within 15 School Days.
All in-year applications and the outcome are reported to the Local Authority within 2 days of submission to the school.
Parents requiring support with their in-year application for schools in Southend can email the Admissions team with a copy of their application form.
Applicants must be advised of the right of appeal in the outcome letter.
Parents can appeal against any school that refuses them a place. Please look at the respective grammar school’s admissions policy for appeals details.
Appeals must be lodged within 20 school days of the date of the outcome letter.
For applications for in-year admissions, appeals must be heard within 30 school days of the appeal being lodged.
Details of how to do this can be found on the respective school websites. All appeals are considered by an Independent Appeals Panel.
Parents requiring support with their in-year appeal for schools in Southend can email the Admissions team with a copy of their application form and appeal form.
Under and Over age applicants
Parents may seek a place for their child outside of their normal age group. This could be because the child is gifted and talented or has experienced problems such as ill health. The parents of a summer born child may choose not to send that child to school until the September following their fifth birthday and may ask to be admitted out of their normal age group - to reception rather than year 1.
Such requests for Schools in Southend-on-Sea are directed to the school initially. Final decisions are made by the Local Authority. Requests for year 6 must have been submitted by the parent and considered by the admission authority before the closing date for applications to year 7, i.e. 31 October of any given year. It is recommended that admission authorities and schools make decisions based on the circumstances of each case and in the best interests of the child concerned.
The decision for admission out of normal age group, may include documenting the following:
- the parent’s views.
- information about the child’s academic, social, and emotional development
- where relevant, their medical history and the views of a medical professional
- whether they have previously been educated out of their normal age group
- and whether they may naturally have fallen into a lower age group if it were not for being born prematurely
- the views of the head teacher at the school concerned
In circumstances were a child transfers from another school already ‘outside of normal age group,’ community schools and the Council may support any over or underage application where the above has been met and the Council is satisfied that the child should continue to be educated out of normal age group.
Catchment areas for all schools in Southend
You can find your catchment area by searching our school catchment area directory.
