Applying for a secondary school place

Applying for a secondary place for September 2020

If your child is currently in Year 6, they are due to start secondary school in September 2020.

You must apply for a secondary place for your child even if they have an older brother or sister at your preferred school. If your child attends an All Through school and you wish them to automatically transfer to year 7, please contact the school who will advise you what to do.

The booklet Starting Secondary School 2020 (10.4MB PDF) contains all the information you need to know about applying for a secondary school place. Please check the latest admissions information below for updates to this booklet.

The London Borough of Waltham Forest takes very seriously any attempt to gain an advantage in the admissions process by giving false information.

It is really important that the admissions system is fair for everybody. Nobody should be allowed to cheat by using a friend or relative’s address, a business address or by temporarily renting a property near to a popular school. Each year a number of parents try to get a school place by providing false information, which could result in them taking a place that should have gone to another child.

The Local Authority will investigate all instances where a parent is thought to have provided false or misleading information in order to gain admission to a school. Your address will be checked by reference to various records and, if necessary, by a council officer visiting the application address.

A false application may, in addition to possible prosecution, lead to the withdrawal of your child’s place in the school applied for, even if the child has already started school.

For details on how we use your information for fraud prevention, including sharing with fraud prevention agencies, please see our updated Anti-Fraud Fair Processing Notice.

If you suspect someone has provided false information on a school application form please report fraud online. Alternatively you can call the fraud hotline anonymously, 24 hours a day on 0300 003 1099 or you can email us at fraud@walthamforest.gov.uk

The closing date for applications was 31 October 2019. 

The eAdmissions website for online applications opened on 1 September. The closing date was 31 October 2019. 

If you are applying after this date, your application will be considered as late.  You can still submit your late application online until July 2020.

You can download a guide explaining how to apply for your child’s school place online (140KB PDF).

There are FAQs and guidance sheets to help you complete your online application on the eAdmissions website. If you're having a technical problem completing your application, please email support@eadmissions.org.uk.

If you and your child live in Waltham Forest you must apply through us. If you and your child live outside Waltham Forest, you must apply to the local authority in which you live. The eAdmissions website will redirect your application to the correct local authority based on the address and postcode you enter.  

Please note that the preferred method for secondary admissions is digitally.

If you are unable to apply online you can download the secondary common application form (70KB PDF). Instructions for how to submit your paper application are on the back of the application form.

If you have already applied but now wish to change your preferences you will need to complete the Change of Preference form.  Please note that any change of preference form received will be processed after National Offer Day.

National Allocation Day

National Allocation Day is on 2 March 2020. 

If you applied online by the closing date, an email with the outcome of your application will be sent to you in the evening on 2 March 2020. For paper applications received by the closing date, a letter will be posted first class on 2 March 2020.  For more information please see our frequently asked questions (369KB PDF)

Latest Admissions Information

For September 2020 entry to year 7 Norlington School will now be admitting 156 children.

For September 2020 entry to year 7 Kelmscott School will now be admitting 210 children.

Parental responsibility

If one parent has parental responsibility (as evidenced by documentation) that parents’ application is the one that will be accepted.  If parents are separated and both have parental responsibility, then they must determine between them who will make the application and if they cannot agree then either parent may seek to have that determined by a Court.    In the event of a dispute between parents who do not have this matter resolved by the Court we will accept the application by the parent with whom the child resides the majority of the school week and where that is equal we will determine whose application is progressed with reference to the parent who is in receipt of Child Benefit, and if no one is in receipt of child benefit then we will consider all of the circumstances and make a determination as to the application which will be accepted and provide our reasons for doing so.  This will ensure the child has an active application for a school place.

We have to make a decision of where the child’s home address is because the allocation of school places under the Admissions Policy, where the criteria of distance is used, is determined by reference to the child’s ‘home address’.    Where a child lives with each of their separated parents for different parts of the week, we will treat the child’s home address on any application to be where the child sleeps for most of the school week.  Where this is an equal time this will be determined by reference to the parents’ address who receives the Child Benefit.   In cases where the recipient of child benefit is clearly not a main carer of the child, or no one receives Child Benefit, we will consider all of the circumstances and make a determination as to the ‘home’ address which will be used and provide our reasons for doing so.