Before completing an application, please carefully read the following information. You can apply for a school place using the Parent Portal.
There are two types of school application which are explained below:
In-Year applications
In-year applications are made when a child has already started school, when a move is required during the school year and for year groups other than those allocated during the national admissions round. Before submitting an in-year application please be aware that we are only able to accept applications up to 20 school days before the school place is required, 30 school days for Service Children with a posting order. If we receive an application earlier than this, we will inform you that the application has been declined and ask you to reapply at a future date.
You must be certain that you wish for a new school to be allocated before submitting your application. We are unable to guarantee that a previous school place can be reinstated if you change your mind, as it may have been reallocated to another child.
If your child has an Education Health and Care Plan, please email SENdept@york.gov.uk regarding your request to move schools. There is a separate admissions process - see Our Local Offer for SEND for details.
More information can be found at In-year applications for a school place page.
Year of Entry and Annual Round applications
An application should be made when a child is starting primary school for the first time (Reception Year), when a child is moving from an infant to a junior school and when a child is starting secondary school for the first time (in Year 7). Your application must be made to the local authority in which you live, even if your schools of preference are not in that area. Only persons resident in York and with parental responsibility can apply to City of York Council.The application process begins in September of the previous school year.
Please see the relevant information page for each application phase.
Starting Primary School in Reception
- Applications Open: 12 September
- Application Deadline: 15 January
- National Offer Day: 16 April or next working day
- Further Information: Starting primary or infant school for the first time
Starting Junior School in Year 3
- Applications Open: 12 September
- Application Deadline: 15 January
- National Offer Day: 16 April or next working day
- Further Information: Starting junior school for the first time
Starting Secondary School in Year 7
- Applications Open: 12 September
- Application Deadline: 31 October
- National Offer Day: 1 March or next working day
- Further Information: Starting secondary school for the first time
Finding out your allocated school for Year of Entry or Annual Round applications on National Offer Day
To find out your child’s allocated school on National Offer Day please sign into your account. You will require your username (email address) and password. Any changes made after National Offer Day will not be shown on the Parent Portal.
Your preferences
You can express up to five preferences in your application. We operate an equal preference system which means that we consider all of your preferences and offer you the highest ranked preference we can.
Putting a school as your first and only preference, or attempting to name a school more than once does not increase your chance of being successful.
If we cannot offer you any of your preferences and you are without a local school place, you will be allocated the nearest school with places available, this may not be your catchment school, but will be within a reasonable distance of your home address. It is therefore advisable to use all of your five preferences.
Supplementary information forms
If you are applying for schools outside of the City of York area or faith schools such as your local Church of England or Roman Catholic school you may also need to provide additional information such as proof of your child's baptism by completing a Supplementary Information Form (SIF). The SIF can be found on the relevant Admission Policy page for the year of application.
You may wish to check with the school directly if a SIF is required.
Submitting your application
Please be aware that an application may only be submitted by someone who has parental responsibility for the child. If parental responsibility is shared, we require agreement from all parties. We would advise all parents/carers to read the Guide for Parents before submitting an application.
To make an application for a school place, you apply via SynergyWeb. In order to apply you must create an account or log into an existing account (username is your email address).
Guide for Parents
We have created a Guide for Parents which contains useful information for parent and carers on school admissions, including key information on catchment areas, parental responsibility, fair access, service families, your address, the oversubscription criteria, and key dates including when you will find out which school your child has been allocated.
Fraudulent applications for a school place
The Local Authority may withdraw the offer of a school place if an application is found to be fraudulent or intentionally misleading.
They may withdraw the child either before or after the child has taken up the school place.
How we process school place applications
Find out more about how we process school admissions.
Your data
When you apply for a school place (online or paper application) we'll use and process your information for the purposes of your application, but also for providing children's education and supporting your child's teaching and learning - find out more about how we process and store your information.