Secondary school places Yorkshire: Parents advised to apply for their child’s secondary school place as deadline approaches and what to do if you miss the closing date for applications

Applications are now open and any child transferring to secondary school from primary level next year must apply for a place by October 31, 2023.

In North Yorkshire, parents can list up to five schools in order of preference on their common application form. They are encouraged to include their child’s catchment school as one of those five to maximise the chances of obtaining a place. Those applying will find out where they have been accepted on March 1, 2024.

Last year, admission figures showed a total of 89.84 per cent secured their first choice, with 96.4 per cent of all families in the country who requested a school place receiving an offer from the authority for one of their top three preferences of secondary school.

Council leader Coun Carl Les said: “There is always a high demand for school places and we do our utmost to ensure that children are offered a place at their preferred primary or secondary school.

“If parents apply online it will help with the efficiency of the process, and if they can include their child’s catchment school in their application we are more likely to be able to meet their wishes.”

What to do if you miss the deadline for secondary school applications or want to make changes

If you are applying online and have not submitted your application yet, you can still make changes including the choice of school; you must use the account management section of your parent account to change your information.

If you have already submitted your application, you cannot make more changes through your parent account. You must complete and return a changes form, which you can retrieve from the North Yorkshire council website.

Applications submitted on time will be considered before late applications.

The closing dates for applications are October 31, 2023 for starting secondary school applications and January 15, 2024 for starting primary or infant school, or transferring from infant to junior school applications.

You can still apply online after the closing dates until November 30, 2023 for starting secondary school applications and February 18, 2024 for starting primary or infant school, or transferring from infant to junior school applications.

Your applications will be marked as late unless you have provided an acceptable reason to the admission authority. If your reason has been accepted for a late application, your application will be considered along with applications received on time.

You can email [email protected] with your late reasons and don’t forget to include your child’s name and date of birth in all your emails to admissions.

You will no longer be able to apply online after the final dates for changes and will need to contact the admissions team to ask for a paper application form. Any applications received after these dates will only be processed from 10 working days after the relevant National Offer Day which will either be March 1, 2024 for starting secondary school or April 16, 2024 for starting primary or infant school or transferring from infant to junior school.

If you make a late application or change, you may still be allocated a place at your preferred school, if the school is undersubscribed and there are still places available. Otherwise, the normal oversubscription criteria will apply.