Starting first or primary school.
If you live in Newcastle, Newcastle City Council is your home local authority. Applications for school places must be submitted to the home authority, including those from families wanting to apply for a school outside of Newcastle.
We are required by law to co-ordinate the admission process for all first and primary school applications for children living in Newcastle.
This includes faith schools, trust schools and academies. These co-ordinated arrangements ensure that every child is offered one school place by the home authority.
for children living in Newcastle. These co-ordinated arrangements ensure that every child is offered one school place by the home authority they live in.
Click here to apply online for a school place. The closing date for applications is midnight on 15 January 2012.
We encourage you to apply online because:
Faith schools have different admissions criteria to Newcastle community schools. They usually give priority to children of their faith and may ask for proof if you are applying for faith reasons.
You may be asked to provide proof of your address. This must be the permanent address at which the child is living with a parent or person with parental responsibility.
If you are required to provide evidence to support your application, it will say so in the admissions policy, see individual school policies for details these can be found on every school page.
If you are a Newcastle resident and want to apply for a reception place at a school in another local authority you need to apply on the Newcastle admission form as this is your home authority.
We transfer the information to other local authorities and they will inform us if a place can be offered. We will contact you with the outcome.
Please note that other local authorities may have different timescales for dealing with school place applications.
If you want to apply for a place at an independent school you will need to contact the school for information on how to apply.
Please let us know for our records if you live in Newcastle and are not applying to a state school.
You must use the permanent address at which your child is living with a parent or the person with parental responsibility. The address of a childminder or family members who share in the care of your child must not be used.
You need access to a computer with the internet and an email account. The local authority offers free internet access at all libraries and customer service centres. Staff can help you to set up a free email account.
Phone the Families Information Service on 0191 277 4133. They will help you or can put you in touch with the School Choice Adviser if you need extra support.
You can also make an appointment with the Families Information Service and School Choice Adviser outside our normal opening hours and at a venue to suit you.
No. You should submit only one application. Do not submit a paper application as well as an online application. Submission of duplicate information can slow the process down.
Applications made online will be acknowledged by return email. Online application is a secure process with no risk that the application will get lost in the post. If you submit a paper application form, a receipt will not be provided. It is your responsibility to ensure that your application is submitted on time and you are advised to ask for proof of posting.
If you apply online you can change your school preferences any time online up to the closing date of midnight on 15 January 2012. You will get a confirmation email each time you resubmit your form.
If you submit a paper application, you need to write to tell us about any changes. Please include your child’s full name and date of birth in any correspondence. The information must be received before the closing date.
If you wish to change your school preference you will need to complete another application form.
Any changes received after 15 January 2012 will be treated as a late application and may not be considered in the first round of the allocation process.
If you apply late, you are less likely to get a place at one of the schools listed on your form. It is unlikely that we will make an offer of a place on 16 April 2012.
If your application is received after 15 January 2012, it will not be processed until after we have processed all of the on time applications.
If there are exceptional circumstances for your application being late such as
you must write and tell us why your application is late and provide proof.
We will consider each case individually and may – as an exception - process your form as though it was received on time.
If you apply after 5 February 2012 we are unable to consider a late application as an exception because the allocations process will have started.
You must make sure that everything you tell us is true and accurate.
If there is proof that you have given us false or misleading information the offer of a school place may be withdrawn.
We may ask you to provide evidence to support your application. We can ask schools, other council departments, other admission authorities and the health authority for information.
Yes you can but we can only look at information directly related to your application where it means that you qualify under an admission rule. We are unable to use any other information to increase your priority for a school place.
You can apply on our application form for a school in any local authority. You are advised to read each school's admission criteria carefully as different schools in other local authorities may have different arrangements.
If the school you are interested in is popular, the admissions rules will give you a realistic idea of the chances of getting a place there.
Next step: How do you process my application?