Primary applications close on 15 January: how to choose and apply
The Reception deadline for September 2027, how to list your schools, what catchment and sibling rules mean, deferring or part-time starts for summer-born children, and what happens on 16 April.
By The AskBobbie team · 29 September 20262 min read
The deadline for a Reception place in September 2027 is 15 January 2027. Offers arrive on 16 April 2027. Between now and then, this is what to do.
Visit in the autumn
Primary schools run open mornings in October and November. Go to two or three, including the one you assume, because the feel of a school is not on its website. Ask about wraparound care, how they settle new starters, and how they send letters.
Apply through the council
Your home council's website, "apply for a primary school place", from around September. You list schools in order of preference; most councils allow three to six. The council gives you the highest school on your list that has a place for your child under its own rules. Listing one school does not help; listing several in true order does.
Put at least one school on the list you are very likely to get, usually the nearest with places.
What the rules mean
Each school's oversubscription criteria say who gets in when there are more applicants than places: children in care first, then usually siblings, then distance, sometimes a catchment area or a faith criterion. Last year's furthest distance offered is in the council's booklet and is the best guide to your chances.
Summer-born and part-time
A child born between April and August can start Reception part-time, or defer their start within the year until the term after their fifth birthday. You can also ask for a full year's delay, so they start Reception rather than Year 1 at five; the admission authority must consider the request on the child's circumstances. Apply by the normal deadline either way.
After 16 April
Accept within the window given, usually a fortnight. If you did not get your first choice, accept the place offered and appeal for a higher one; accepting does not weaken the appeal. Waiting lists move through the spring and summer.
In the calendar
15 January to apply, 16 April for the offer, and the welcome pack's dates when it arrives in May or June. See starting Reception.
Sources: GOV.UK school admissions; GOV.UK, summer-born children starting school; local authority admissions pages.
Questions people ask
- My child was born in August. Can they start later?
- Yes. A summer-born child can start part-time, or defer within the year until the term after their fifth birthday, or ask to start Reception a whole year later. The last one is a request to the admission authority, which must consider it; ask the council how, and apply by the normal deadline anyway.
- Do I apply to the nursery attached to the school?
- No; nursery places are separate and do not give priority for Reception unless the school's criteria say so explicitly. Apply for Reception through the council like everyone else.
- Can I apply for a school outside my council?
- Yes, through your own council's form. They pass it on. Distance is measured from your home, so a school in the next borough is judged the same way.