Posted on Tuesday 23rd October 2018
Parents have just over one week left to apply for a secondary school in Staffordshire.
Admission applications to secondary schools close on October 31, meaning parents still have time to make that all-important decision on which secondary school their child will attend in September 2019.
Last year, 400 parents failed to apply before the deadline, putting them at a potential disadvantage when being allocated places.
With an increased demand for secondary school places in some areas of the county, Staffordshire County Council’s admissions team has produced some top tips when making an application.
These include:
· Make more than one preference
· Be realistic about the schools being applied for, and always include your catchment area school on your list of preferred schools where you have one. You can carry out a school search.
· Understand the admissions arrangements for each of your preferred schools. This will enable you to assess what order of priority will be given for each school. You will find this information on secondary education FAQ
· All applications are considered at the same time, meaning it is important that all applications are in by October 31
County Councillor Philip White, Cabinet Member for learning and employability said:
“Over the past few years we have experienced increased demand for school places, which we have managed through a comprehensive programme of expanding existing schools and building new ones, such as the brand new £30million John Taylor Free School in Burton.
“Last year 92 per cent of parents in Staffordshire were allocated their first preference school, with 96 per cent allocated one of their top three schools, and we will continue to plan for more school places in the future. Even so, I would urge the parents who haven’t applied for a place yet to do so through Staffordshire County Council’s website before the closing date, to give them the best chance of being allocated one of their top three schools.”