Apply for a secondary school place - September 2022

The application process opens on 1 September 2022 and the deadline to apply for a secondary school place is 31 October 2022. If you apply by this date, you will receive your child’s school offer on National Offer Day (1 March 2023).

Late applications won’t be processed until after 1 March 2023, by which time many schools will be full and you are much less likely to be offered a place at your preferred school.

Apply online

If you have an email address, the easiest way to apply for school places is online. 

1. Log in to the Parent Portal or create an account if using it for the first time.
2. Enter your details (new accounts only).
3. A verification email will be sent to your inbox - click the link and log in (new accounts only)
4. Add your child’s details if you've not added them before.
5. As proof of address, upload a copy of one of:
   • Council Tax bill for current financial year
   • utilities bill within the last three months
   • car insurance policy
   • home insurance policy
   • signed and dated tenancy agreement
   • latest mortgage statement
6. Select your preferred schools (including any grammar schools) and upload any supplementary information forms or certificates required
7. Click the submit button.

What is classed as my child's home address?

1. If at all uncertain, you should read the Warwickshire County Council entry admission arrangements to confirm what we mean by a child’s home address.
2. Using a fraudulent address can lead to an application being withdrawn, an offer being withdrawn, or even removing the child’s place once they have started at a school
3. If your child lives at more than one address, then you must agree on an address to use on their secondary school application.
4. Once you have submitted the application you will not be able to make any changes.
5. If you move house at any point during the admissions process then you must tell us.

Your school preferences

• You can apply for up to six schools.
• Name the schools in your order of preference but be aware that you could be offered a place at any of the schools you apply for.
• Think about how your child would get to those schools and get home, as well as the costs involved in travelling.
• We strongly advise you to name more than one school on your application. Naming only one school does not guarantee your child a place at that school or give your child priority for a place over another child.
• We recommend that one of the six schools you name in your preferences is your priority area school. This school is usually the most likely to be able to offer your child a place.

Last year there were a number of children who applied on time but could not be offered a place at any of the schools listed on their application. In most cases, this is because they only listed one school or did not include their priority area school on the application. In these cases, we allocate a place at the nearest school to your home address which has availability once all other on-time applications have been processed. In some cases, this may be a significant distance away.

• Find out how school places are allocated

Children with an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP)

• Normally, children with an EHCP who are in a mainstream primary or junior school will transition to a mainstream secondary school.
• If your child has an EHCP, we recommend that you submit a secondary school application (mainstream schools only, not special schools) for them through the online parent portal.
• Your child’s current school will conduct an annual review for your child’s EHCP in consultation with the local authority’s Special Educational Needs Disability and Review team (SENDAR).
• The school preferences on your application will be taken into consideration as part of this review.
• The SENDAR team will contact you in February 2023 to confirm which secondary school has been named on your child’s secondary school EHCP.