Applications for children to start high school next year are now being received.

If your child is due to leave their primary school next summer and start year 7 at a high school in September 2024, you will doubtless already have been thinking about where they will go. And there is just over a month until you need to have made a decision.

The recommended date for receipt of applications for high schools is 20 October 2023 or, by the absolute latest, the final, statutory deadline is 31 October 2023.

Choosing which school your child will attend is obviously a big decision and the applications process can sometimes feel daunting.

The council’s admissions team does all it can to make the application process as easy as possible.

And local high schools hold open mornings and evenings so you can get a feel for them before making a final decision.

But, if you still need some support, you can visit the council’s website, contact the schools you are interested in, or speak to your child’s current school.

SCHOOLS INFORMATION

To find out more about your preferred schools, you can visit the admissions pages on the council’s website or, alternatively, you can contact the schools themselves. Each school will also be holding an open morning or evening.

You can also view the council’s full admissions prospectus online.

HOW TO APPLY

You can apply online between 1 September and 31 October 2023. If you are unable to apply online, you can ask your current school for an application form to fill in and ask it for instructions if anything is not clear. If you choose to apply online, you must not complete a paper application as well.

The Cardinal Wiseman (Catholic) and Twyford (Church of England) high schools require a supplementary information form to be completed to assess denominational commitment and these may be obtained either from the schools themselves, or from the council website.

NEW SCHOOLS

Any new schools proposed to open in 2024 will be outside the co-ordinated application process. Parents wishing to apply to those schools will need to contact the school direct and apply on the school’s application form. Parents are strongly advised to also apply for established secondary schools through the co-ordinated system because there is no guarantee at this point that the new schools will open in 2024.