One week left to apply for secondary school places

Parents of children in Year 6 have one week left to apply for a secondary school place for September 2027, with the deadline for on-time applications falling on Saturday 31 October.

Applications must be submitted by 11.59pm. In Birmingham they are made through the city council's school admissions service, which opened for applications on 1 September.

List six schools

Birmingham City Council advises parents to use all six of their preferences, listing them in the order they would like. "Remember to list six different secondary schools," it says.

It urges parents to read the admission arrangements for each school carefully, so they understand how likely their child is to be offered a place. "It is important that you include at least one realistic preference for a school that your child would have met the criteria for in previous years," the council says.

Listing a school lower down does not reduce a child's chances of getting a place there. Under the national admissions code, schools rank applicants against their own criteria without knowing where each school was placed on a family's list, and a child is then offered the highest preference they qualify for.

Late applications

Applications received after the deadline are only considered once all the on-time applications have been dealt with. In Birmingham, late applications will be processed after 1 March 2027.

"Late applicants are less likely to get a place at one of their preferred schools for their child, as most schools in Birmingham fill to their published admissions numbers with on-time applicants that met their admissions criteria," the council says.

What happens next

Offers of secondary school places are sent out by councils on 1 March, or on the next working day if that falls at a weekend. Families must accept the offer by the deadline given in their letter, or it may be withdrawn and given to someone else.

If a child is not offered a place at any of the schools listed, the council must offer a place at another school, usually the nearest one with places still available. Families can then join waiting lists for the schools they preferred, and have the right to appeal to an independent panel if they are refused a place.

The deadline comes at the end of the half-term holiday, which began for most Birmingham schools on Friday. With many families away or busy over the break, the council is urging parents not to leave their application until the last minute.

Recent league tables have shown some of the city's schools among the best performing in England, but competition for places at the most popular schools, and particularly at the selective grammar schools, remains intense. Parents who are unsure about the process can contact the council's school admissions team for help.