Step 2: Complete the secondary admissions application form

• Overview
• Step 1: Research and choose schools
• Step 2: Complete the application form
• Step 3: Complete any supplementary forms
• Step 4: Applications are assessed
• Step 5: We offer you a place
• Step 6: You accept or decline the place
• Step 7: If you don't get a place at your preferred school

Summary of this step

You must complete and submit the application and any supporting documents.

You should read the information to help you complete your application before filling in the form.

The closing date for on-time applications to secondary schools was 31 October 2023. Please refer to the late applications webpage.

You must:

• complete the application and return it to the local authority where your child lives for the majority of the time, regardless of which schools you are applying for (but please see more information on the address to use below).
• submit supporting documents with your application if you are applying under exceptional social or medical criteria.
• make only one application for each child. If you apply more than once for the same child, we will consider only the most recently submitted application received before the deadline.

If you submit your application or make any changes to your preferences without a good reason after the deadline, your application will be treated as late. Late applications will be dealt with after on-time applications, and this may affect the chances of your child being offered a place at one of your preferred schools.

Information to help you complete your application

All of the information below is important and may affect the place that is offered to your child – please take the time to read it.

• Completing the application
  • Who should fill out the application
  • The address to use
  • If you change your address after applying
  • Your school preferences
  • Your reasons for preference
  • Siblings
  • Looked after and previously looked after children
  • Applying under exceptional medical or social criteria
• Supporting evidence
• Admission of children outside their normal age group
• Children with special educational needs and/or disability (SEND)
• Applying for a Surrey school from outside Surrey
• Applications from Members of the Armed Forces and Crown Servants

Completing the application form

Who should fill out the application

The person applying should be the person with parental responsibility for the child. If you are unsure of your status you should submit your application with a covering letter explaining your situation.

The address to use

The address on the application must be the child's current permanent place of residence, usually the parents' address.

• Where the child is subject to a child arrangements order and that order stipulates that the child will live with one parent/carer more than the other, the address to be used will be the one where the child is expected to live for the majority of the time.
• In other cases where the parents do not live together, the address is where the child spends most of their time. In cases, where the child spends an equal time between their parents/carers, it will be up to the parent/carers to agree which address to use.
• Where a child spends their time equally between their parents/carers and they cannot agree on who should make the application, we will accept an application from the parent/carer who is registered for child benefit (where applicable). If neither parent/carer is registered for child benefit we will accept the application from the parent/carer whose address is registered with the child's current school or nursery.
• You must not use a business or carer/childminder's address.
• You must also not use a relative's address unless the child lives at that address as their normal place of residence.
• We will not normally accept a temporary address if the main carer of the child still owns or rents a property that has previously been used as a home address, nor if we believe it has been used to obtain a school place when an alternative address is still available to that child.
• Where a temporary address is used to secure a school place and the agreement to reside there is due to expire before the allocation of places, we may contact you for an update on your plans to secure a more permanent address.
• An application can only be made from one address, and only one application per child can be made.

We will need proof of where you live - usually your council tax number, or if you are not responsible for council tax, two forms of alternative evidence, such as a copy of your signed tenancy agreement and a utility bill or driving licence.

We will check the address on your application against the records we hold for your child's current school and we may also check council tax records or write to ask you to provide proof of your address.

We will investigate any applications where there is doubt about the address being given. Use of false information may lead us to withdraw an offer of a place, even after a child has started at a school.

More information on how we will investigate applications is available in our Address of Convenience Assessment Protocol (PDF) and if you wish to make a referral please use the Address of Convenience Referral Form (PDF).

If you change your address after applying

If you live in England, we expect you to apply to your home local authority before the closing date, even if you wish to name Surrey schools. If you move after applying to us or to another local authority, you must let us know immediately. You must tell us the date you moved and provide us with evidence of your new address.

Please note that your new address will not be used in the allocation of a school place until you are actually living in the property and you have supplied us with evidence of this.

If you have not yet applied, do not delay your application, even if you are planning to move. You must use your current address on the application and submit it to the local authority where you live by the closing date. Applications made after the closing date will only be considered as on time if we agree that the application could not reasonably have been made by the closing date.

If your child is offered a school place based on where they live, it is conditional on them living at that address on the application closing date (or a different date if specified by the school). An exception will only apply if we have accepted a change of address that has taken place after the closing date (see further information below). A new address can only be considered once a move has taken place and we reserve the right to seek further information from you.

If you do not tell us about a move, or about a declared move that has failed to take place, we may withdraw your application or any offer of a school place we have made.

We will investigate any applications where there is doubt about the address being given. Use of false information may lead us to withdraw an offer of a place, even after a child has started at a school. More information on how we will investigate applications is available in our Address of Convenience Assessment Protocol (PDF).

If you move on or before the closing date (31 October 2023) but after you have applied

Let us know the date you moved and provide us with evidence of your new address by 12 December 2023, for example a copy of your tenancy agreement or the date of completion. As long as the move took place on or before 31 October, your new address will be used for school allocation purposes but only if you provide us with the evidence by 12 December.

If you move after the closing date (31 October 2023)

If you move after the closing date it may be possible to update the application address, depending on when you move and when you provide us with evidence of your new address.

Moving within Surrey after the closing date: if you applied by the closing date and you move within Surrey after 31 October 2023, but on or before 12 December 2023, let us know the date you moved and provide us with evidence of your new address by 12 December 2023, for example a copy of your tenancy agreement or the date of completion. As long as the move took place on or before 12 December and you send us evidence by that date, your new address will be used in the initial allocation of school places on 1 March 2024 (the national offer day).

If you move within Surrey after 12 December 2023 or if you provide us with evidence of a prior move after this date, your previous address will be used for initial allocation purposes on 1 March 2024. Your new address will be used for waiting lists from 1 March 2024, or the date you move if a move has not yet taken place.

Moving out of Surrey after the closing date: if you applied by the closing date and you move out of Surrey after 31 October 2023, but on or before 12 December 2023, let us know the date you moved and provide us with evidence of your new address by 12 December 2023, for example a copy of your tenancy agreement or the date of completion. As long as the move took place on or before 12 December and you send us evidence by that date, we will forward your application to your new local authority. You may be asked to complete a new application and be able to change your named preferences. However please note that it is your responsibility to ensure you have checked the deadline for whichever local authority you are moving to, as it may not be the same as Surrey's. If the other local authority's deadline is earlier than 12 December 2023, we cannot guarantee that your new address will be used by your new home local authority for the initial allocation of places or that they will treat your application as on time.

If you move out of Surrey after 12 December 2023 or if you provide us with evidence of a prior move after this date, responsibility for your application remains with us and your previous address will be used for initial allocation purposes on 1 March 2024. Your application will become the responsibility of your new local authority and your new address will be used for waiting lists from 1 March or the date you move if your move has not yet taken place.

Moving into Surrey after the closing date: as long as you have already submitted an application by the closing date, if you move into Surrey after 31 October 2023 but on or before 12 December 2023, let your original local authority know in writing and provide proof of your new address. Please also let our admissions team know. Once your original local authority is satisfied that you have moved, we will liaise with them to take over your application. We may ask you to complete a Surrey application form and will require evidence of your new address on or by 12 December 2023 in order to take responsibility for your application and to consider your new address in the initial allocation of school places.

If you move into Surrey after 12 December 2023, or if you provide us with evidence of a prior move after this date, your application will remain the responsibility of your original home local authority and your previous address will be used for initial allocation purposes. Your application will become our responsibility and your new address will be used for waiting lists from 1 March 2024, or the date you move if your move has not yet taken place.

If your original home local authority uses a different date by which to accept a change of address, we agree with that local authority which of us should have responsibility for your application.

Your school preferences

You can name up to six schools.

• You must name the schools in order of your preference (this information is not shared with schools so does not disadvantage your application). If your child can be offered a place at more than one of your named schools, the offer will be for the one that is listed highest on your preferences.
• Do not include any private or independent schools. You should apply to these schools directly.
• If you are applying for schools outside Surrey but you live in Surrey, you must still name these schools on your Surrey application form. For details of schools outside Surrey contact the relevant local authority.

We recommend that you:

• name six schools if you can;
• name schools that your child is most likely to be offered a place at.

This will increase your chances of being offered a place at one of your named schools.

Naming fewer schools on your list of preferences does not increase the chance of you being offered a place at one of those schools. Places are allocated according to the admission criteria of the schools, not how many schools you have named. If you name fewer than six, you increase the risk of being offered a place at a school that you have not named, which may be further away.

Check each school's website or our admissions booklet for the admission criteria of each school to see how places are allocated, and how many children applied and were offered a place last year. Many children will be offered a place under the distance criteria (based on how far they live from the school). You can see the maximum distance that schools offered to last year in our admissions booklet (but note this is only an indication – the maximum distance will be different this year depending on how many children apply to each school).

Whilst we have a responsibility to make a school place available to each Surrey child, it may not be at one of your named preferences or at your closest school.

Your reasons for preference

The application form has space for you to give a reason for naming a school as a preference but you do not have to complete this. Any information included will be considered but reasons given will not usually affect how places are prioritised.

Siblings

If you believe your child is eligible for sibling priority at one of your preferred schools, you must include the sibling's details on your application. If you don't, your child may be given lower priority for a place at the school.

For community schools we define a sibling as:

• brother or sister with the same parents whether living at the same address or not.
• half brother or sister living as part of the same family unit at the same address, Monday to Friday.
• adopted or fostered brother or sister living as part of the same family unit at the same address, Monday to Friday.
• step brother or sister living as part of the same family unit at the same address, Monday to Friday.

Siblings must already be on roll at the school you are applying for and be expected to still be on roll at that school on the date of the child's admission.

If a sibling leaves the school concerned or a linked school after the application but before the national offer day, the applicant must let the School Admissions team know as this may affect the child's sibling priority. We reserve the right to withdraw an offer of a place that has been made on the basis of sibling priority if information comes to light that the applicant had claimed that priority in the knowledge that the child's sibling would have left the school or linked school by the time of the child's admission; or if the applicant failed to tell us of a change that took place prior to the national offer day that would affect the child's sibling priority.

Academies and foundation, free and voluntary aided schools may have different definitions of siblings. Contact these schools for details of their sibling criteria.

Looked after and previously looked after children

Children who are looked after or were previously looked after by a local authority, receive top priority for a school place. If your child meets one of the following definitions, please indicate this on your application and include supporting evidence:

• Looked after children are those who are in the care of a local authority or provided with accommodation by a local authority in accordance with section 22 of the Children Act 1989 at the time an application for a school is made, for example, children who are fostered or living in a children's home.
• Previously looked after children are those who have previously been in the care of a local authority in accordance with Section 22 of the Children Act 1989 and who have left that care through adoption, a child arrangement order (in accordance with section 8 of the Children Act 1989 and as amended by the Children and Families Act 2014) or special guardianship order (in accordance with section 14A of the Children Act 1989).
• Children who appear (to the admission authority) to have been in state care outside of England and ceased to be in state care as a result of being adopted. A child will be regarded as having been in state care outside England if they were accommodated by a public authority, a religious organisation, or any other provider of care whose sole or main purpose is to benefit society. The parent/carer will need to provide evidence to demonstrate that the child was in state care outside England and left that care as a result of being adopted.

Applying under exceptional medical or social criteria

If you wish to apply under a school's exceptional medical or social criteria, you must indicate which school you are requesting this for on the application form and provide relevant information, including medical evidence, where appropriate, to support your case at the time of your application. However, please first check whether the school does have this criteria as part of its published admission arrangements, because not all schools give priority on this basis. You can do this by checking our booklet, Information on secondary schools or by checking the school's own website.

If you are applying for a community school, you should also complete a supplementary information form to confirm that you wish to be considered under the exceptional medical or social criterion and to help you provide all the information that is needed to consider a request. A supplementary information form may also apply to some academies and foundation, free and voluntary aided schools. You can find out which schools require a supplementary information form by visiting our Directory of Surrey schools. Please ensure you complete the form and submit it with your evidence when completing your application.

Evidence to support an application under exceptional medical or social criteria must be provided with your form by 31 October 2023. Evidence received after that date may be considered only if it could not reasonably have been provided by 31 October 2023 but will not be accepted beyond 12 December 2023. Any evidence received after 12 December 2023 will not be considered until after the initial allocation of places.

The exceptional social or medical circumstances might relate to either the child or the parent/carer. Supporting evidence from a professional is required such as a doctor and/or consultant for medical cases or a social worker, health visitor, housing officer, the police or probation officer for other social circumstances. This evidence must confirm the circumstances of the case and must demonstrate why the child should attend a particular school and why no other school could meet the child's needs. If you are applying for exceptional priority for a school that is not your nearest, you must explain why nearer schools cannot meet your child's needs.

Providing evidence does not guarantee that a child will be given priority at a particular school. In each case, a decision will be made based on the merits of the case and whether the evidence demonstrates that a placement should be made at one particular school above any other.

Common medical conditions and allergies can usually be supported in all mainstream schools, therefore priority under a school's exceptional medical criteria would not normally be given for these. Some mainstream schools have units attached which provide specialist provision for children with an Education, Health and Care Plan which names the school. The facilities in these units are not normally available to children in the mainstream school and, as such, priority under a school's exceptional social or medical criteria would not normally be agreed for a mainstream place on the basis of a specialist unit being attached to the school.

In addition, routine child minding arrangements would not normally be considered to be an exceptional social reason for placement at a particular school.

Supporting evidence

If you have a council tax account number, this must be provided with your application at the time that you apply. If you do not have a council tax account number (for example if you are a private tenant, live with family or an armed forces family living in service accommodation in the United Kingdom), you must provide two forms of alternative evidence of your child's address with your application, such as a copy of your signed tenancy agreement and a recent utility bill or driving licence. If you do not provide your council tax account number or alternative evidence of your address, we will contact you to request it.

Evidence to support applications under exceptional medical or social criteria must be provided with your form by 31 October 2023.

Evidence received after that date may be considered only if it could not reasonably have been provided by 31 October 2023 but will not be accepted beyond 12 December 2023.

Any evidence received after 12 December 2023 will not be considered until after the initial allocation of places.

Admission of children outside their normal age group

If you would like your child to be educated outside their normal age group, the admission authority for each school will consider your request based on your child's circumstances and what is in your child's best interests. You must state clearly why you feel admission to a different year group is in your child's best interests and, if you wish, provide evidence to support this. More information is available in Surrey's guidance on the education of children out of their chronological year group (PDF).

Children with special educational needs and/or disability (SEND)

We treat applications for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities in the same way as all other applications, unless they have an education, health and care plan (EHCP). If your child has an EHCP, please don't complete the mainstream form as you must follow the procedure for applying for a school place for a child with an EHCP.

If your child has special educational needs and/or disabilities but no EHCP, you are not required to send us copies of any assessment reports as part of your mainstream application, unless you wish to apply for a place under a school's exceptional medical or social criteria. It is expected that all schools can provide the necessary support for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities who do not have an EHCP.

Applying for a Surrey school from outside Surrey

Other local authorities in England

Each local authority has its own application form. You must complete the form for the local authority where you live by the closing date, regardless of which schools you are applying for.

Applying for children living in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales

If you live in Northern Ireland, Scotland or Wales and wish to apply for a Surrey school, you need to provide evidence of a planned return/arrival to Surrey in time for the start of the academic year and evidence of an established residential link in Surrey that indicates your child will be living in Surrey when they are due to start school. If these conditions are met, you may use the following address to apply online, but you must also upload evidence with your application: Quadrant Court, 35 Guildford Road, Woking GU22 7QQ. This address should not be used for correspondence. You must apply by the deadline of 31 October 2023. We will initially consider the application based on your child's address in Northern Ireland, Scotland or Wales and any subsequent change will be considered in line with our change of address policy. See our advice above about changes of address.

If you have not yet established a residential link to Surrey, you will not normally be able to apply until this has been established or until the child has returned to/arrived in Surrey. However, exceptions may apply to families wishing to apply for a boarding place at Gordon's School or Royal Alexandra and Albert School, and you should contact these schools directly for further details.

Children who are not due to return to/arrive in Surrey until after the start of the academic year should submit an in-year application.

Applying for children from abroad

When making an application for a school place, it is the responsibility of the parent to ensure that their child has a right, under their nationality or their visa entry conditions, to study at a school in the United Kingdom and that they will not be contravening the conditions of any visa or United Kingdom immigration law if they take up the school place. School admission authorities must not refuse to accept an application or refuse to admit a child on the basis of their nationality or immigration status, nor remove them from the school roll on this basis.

If you have a property in the United Kingdom you should apply to the local authority for that address. If you do not have a United Kingdom property and wish to apply to Surrey, you need to provide evidence of a planned return/arrival to the United Kingdom in time for the start of the academic year and evidence of an established residential link in Surrey that indicates your child will be living in Surrey when they are due to start school. If these conditions are met, you may use the following address to apply online, but you must also upload evidence with your application: Quadrant Court, 35 Guildford Road, Woking GU22 7QQ. This address should not be used for correspondence. You must apply by the deadline of 31 October 2023. We will initially consider the application based on your child's address abroad and any subsequent change will be considered in line with our change of address policy. See our advice above about changes of address.

If you have not yet established a residential link to Surrey, you will not normally be able to apply until this has been established or until the child has returned to/arrived in Surrey. However, exceptions may apply to families wishing to apply for a boarding place at Gordon's School or Royal Alexandra and Albert School, and you should contact these schools directly for further details.

Children who are not due to return to/arrive in Surrey until after the start of the academic year should submit an in-year application.

For more information please read our guidance on admission of children overseas (PDF).

Applications from Members of the Armed Forces and Crown Servants

Members of the Armed Forces and Crown Servants with automatic right of entry to the United Kingdom who are able to provide evidence of their relocation may apply for a school place ahead of a move. If these conditions are met, you should use the unit or postal address when applying online and upload evidence with your application. If the unit or postal address is not yet known, you may use the following address to apply online, but you will be asked to provide evidence of the unit or postal address when it is known: Quadrant Court, 35 Guildford Road, Woking GU22 7QQ.

Continue to step 3: Complete any supplementary forms

Files available to download

• Addresses of Convenience Assessment Protocol (PDF)
  How we investigate applications that we suspect of using an incorrect address for the purposes of gaining a school place.
• Address of Convenience Referral Form (PDF)
  Use this form if you want to tell us about someone who you believe is using an incorrect address for the purposes of gaining a school place.
• Guidance on admission of children overseas (PDF)
  How we handle applications for school places for children from overseas
• Guidance on the education of children out of chronological year group (PDF)
  How we deal with requests for children being educated in a year group different from that of their chronological age.
• eAdmissions Leaflet 2024 (PDF)
  Useful information on applying via eAdmissions.