Secondary school places and admissions
Before making your application
Before you make an application for a secondary school place for September 2024, 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 have to 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 places in three named schools. You provide these in order of preference. The schools can be within, or outside, Swindon borough. We encourage applicants to use all three preferences as this maximises their chances of being allocated one of their preferred schools.
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 admission criteria. You can read full admissions policies and supplementary information forms for each school on the school admission arrangements webpage.
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:
Here are some key points:
- Applications are not dealt with on a first-come-first-served basis. If your application is received anytime before the deadline on 31 October 2023, 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.