Secondary school places and admissions

Before you make an application for a secondary school place for September 2027, you should be aware of the following information:

• You must make your application to your home local authority. If you're not completely sure you live in Swindon borough, you can check which council area you live in.
• You must apply for a place at a secondary school. Your child won't be allocated a place at a secondary school unless you make an application.
• You can apply for up to three named schools. You provide these in order of preference. The schools can be within, or outside, the borough of Swindon. We encourage applicants to use all three preferences as this maximises their chances of being allocated one of their preferred schools.
• If the school you want to apply for is not within Swindon and is not available to select as a preference, please email SchoolAdmissions@swindon.gov.uk and we will add this to the system

If your child was admitted out of the normal age group, under the summer born criteria before starting reception 

If your child is being educated out of their normal age group, for example, they are being educated in Year 5 when their normal age group is Year 6, you will need to ask the admission authority of the preferred schools to agree for your child to continue being educated outside of their normal age group. This will need to be processed when the child is in Year 5 so you can apply the following year when the child is in Year 6.

You should do this well before the normal admissions round closes for the child’s normal age group. This will be on 31 October 2026 the year the child starts Year 5, rather than Year 6. You must submit an application for the child’s normal age group before the deadline, to secure a place in Year 7, should the request to delay be turned down by the secondary schools.

In deciding what is best for the child, the admission authority will take into account that the child is currently being educated outside their normal age group.

Please note: If the application for admission outside of normal age group is refused, you must decide between the two following options

• Accept the offer of a place in Year 7 in the school year following their child’s 11th birthday (meaning they would progress from Year 5 to Year 7)
• Refuse that offer and make an in-year application for their child to be admitted to Year 8 in the September following their 12th birthday, (meaning they will progress from Year 6 to Year 8)

This means the child will have no option but to miss either Year 6 or Year 7.

If the application for admission outside of normal age group is agreed, the application submitted for September 2027 will be withdrawn, and you will receive a paper application form on 1 September 2027, once your child has started Year 6, to be completed for September 2028. The online system will not allow you to apply for your child to start secondary school in September 2028.  

You can only apply for the schools that were previously consulted and have agreed with the application to delay.

Once you have submitted the application for your child’s normal age group, complete the additional application form below:

• Request for delayed admission form (PDF)

Please return the completed form to SchoolAdmissions@swindon.gov.uk

How applications are considered

The offer of a preferred school place depends on the number of applications received and places available.

Priority for places will be determined by the individual school’s oversubscription criteria. You can read full admissions policies and supplementary information forms for each school on the school admission arrangements webpage.

Multiple applications made for the same child

Where multiple individuals have shared legal responsibility for a child, they should agree on which schools to name as their preference(s), before submitting an application form. In cases of dispute, or where two applications are received for the same child, the Local Authority will contact the applicants to agree on the school(s) applied for. The Local Authority will not process any application until all individuals have confirmed agreement on the preference(s).

If that is not possible, the Local Authority will ask the individuals to seek a Specific Issues Order through the Courts, to determine who has the authority to make an application. 

Queries about applications made by another individual

If an individual with parental responsibility asks about a school application made by someone else, we contact the person who submitted the application before deciding whether to share any information.

We would ask for documentation from the individual requesting the information that confirms they hold current legal parental responsibility for the child. If confirmed, we may share basic information, unless there is a legal reason not to. This could include a court order or a safeguarding concern.

Application forms are treated as personal data and are subject to data protection law.

If we do share information, it will not include any reasons given for the application unless we are legally required to provide them.

Secondary school admissions guide

You should read the secondary school admissions guide before you make your application. This document contains important information about how your application will be considered:

• Secondary school admissions guide (PDF)

Here are some key points:

• Applications are not dealt with on a first-come-first-served basis. If your application is received any time before the deadline on 31 October 2026, it will be treated exactly the same way as all other "on-time" applications.
• If you apply after this date, the application will be considered a late application and therefore considered after all on-time applications have been considered and allocated. We encourage you to apply on time to maximise your chances of being allocated a preferred school.
• We can never guarantee that a place will be offered at one of your preferred schools.
• Each preference you request will be considered equally against the oversubscription criteria for the school. Where we are able to offer a place at more than one school, we will offer a place at the one you have prioritised higher.