Reception 2027: the 15 January deadline
For children born between 1 September 2022 and 31 August 2023. What to do, in what order, with the official dates and each borough's own page.
The verified dates
| Applications close | Friday 15 January 2027 |
| National Offer Day | Friday 16 April 2027 |
| Accept your offer | by the date in your offer letter |
Read on GOV.UK on 9 October 2026; set by the School Admissions Code 2021.
Checklist
- Check the cut-off time on 15 January with the council where you live. You apply to your home council even for schools in another borough.
- Visit the schools you are considering. Most hold open mornings in the autumn term.
- Read the oversubscription criteria in each school's admission arrangements for 2027: usually looked-after children, siblings, then distance, with faith criteria at church schools.
- Check whether any school needs a supplementary information form and return it to the school by its own date.
- List your schools in your true order of preference, using as many lines as your council allows.
- Use your child's permanent home address and have proof of it ready.
- If your child is summer-born and you want them to start Reception a year later, ask the admission authority early and still apply on time.
- Submit, then keep the confirmation email and your application reference.
How your preferences are used
Parents often worry that ranking a popular school first "wastes" a line. It does not. This is how the co-ordinated scheme works in every council in England.
List schools in the order you truly prefer them.
If your child qualifies for a place at more than one school on your list, the council offers the one you ranked highest. The Code says the child must be "offered a place at whichever of these schools is their highest preference" (paragraph 2.11).
A school cannot use your order against you.
Each school ranks every applicant by its published oversubscription criteria alone. The Code forbids giving "extra priority to children whose parents rank preferred schools in a particular order, including 'first preference first' arrangements" (paragraph 1.9c). Putting a school second or third does not lower your child's place in that school's ranking.
Naming one school does not improve your chances there.
Your child is ranked at that school exactly as they would have been with other schools listed below it. Leaving lines empty only removes fallbacks: if no listed school can offer a place, the council offers a place at another school with room.
Use the lines you are given.
The Code requires councils to let you name at least three schools; your council's form shows how many you may list. Include at least one school where your child is likely to rank well under its published criteria, such as distance.
Quotations are from the School Admissions Code 2021, paragraphs 1.9(c), 2.1 and 2.11, and paragraph 15(d).
Common mistakes
- Assuming the nearest school is automatic. You must apply, even if your child attends the school's nursery. A nursery place gives no right to a Reception place.
- Ranking by guesswork about chances. Order has no effect on how a school ranks your child. Rank by what you want.
- Listing only one school. It does not help at that school and leaves no fallback.
- Missing the supplementary form. Without it a faith school may rank your child under a lower criterion.
- Not applying because you plan to defer. A deferred or part-time start is agreed after you have a place. Apply on time.
- Treating last year's figures as a forecast. They describe one year's applicants. Next year's will differ.
Your borough
Apply through the council where you live. London councils take applications online through the eAdmissions website; your borough's page explains its own arrangements.
| Borough | Official page | Applications | Offered first preference | Offered any preference |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Barking and Dagenham | Find on GOV.UK | 2,970 | 95.3% | 99.3% |
| Barnet | Find on GOV.UK | 3,649 | 86.1% | 98.0% |
| Bexley | Bexley admissions | 2,637 | 91.4% | 98.4% |
| Brent | Find on GOV.UK | 3,128 | 88.5% | 98.8% |
| Bromley | Bromley admissions | 3,203 | 87.7% | 99.2% |
| Camden | Find on GOV.UK | 1,251 | 81.5% | 96.6% |
| City of London | Find on GOV.UK | 23 | 73.9% | 100.0% |
| Croydon | Find on GOV.UK | 4,082 | 89.6% | 99.2% |
| Ealing | Ealing admissions | 3,394 | 90.2% | 98.1% |
| Enfield | Find on GOV.UK | 3,263 | 93.8% | 99.3% |
| Greenwich | Greenwich admissions | 2,921 | 89.3% | 98.6% |
| Hackney | Hackney admissions | 1,677 | 88.1% | 98.4% |
| Hammersmith and Fulham | Hammersmith and Fulham admissions | 1,186 | 74.6% | 94.4% |
| Haringey | Find on GOV.UK | 2,193 | 86.0% | 97.7% |
| Harrow | Harrow admissions | 2,650 | 86.6% | 98.3% |
| Havering | Havering admissions | 3,066 | 91.5% | 98.6% |
| Hillingdon | Hillingdon admissions | 3,222 | 94.6% | 99.3% |
| Hounslow | Hounslow admissions | 2,856 | 89.3% | 98.8% |
| Islington | Find on GOV.UK | 1,683 | 79.4% | 95.8% |
| Kensington and Chelsea | Find on GOV.UK | 582 | 75.4% | 94.0% |
| Kingston upon Thames | Find on GOV.UK | 1,457 | 90.0% | 99.1% |
| Lambeth | Lambeth admissions | 2,122 | 80.6% | 96.5% |
| Lewisham | Lewisham admissions | 2,840 | 87.4% | 98.8% |
| Merton | Merton admissions | 2,015 | 86.4% | 97.8% |
| Newham | Newham admissions | 3,960 | 91.3% | 98.6% |
| Redbridge | Find on GOV.UK | 3,417 | 88.2% | 97.8% |
| Richmond upon Thames | Find on GOV.UK | 1,663 | 88.8% | 98.9% |
| Southwark | Southwark admissions | 2,248 | 84.3% | 98.0% |
| Sutton | Sutton admissions | 2,159 | 92.1% | 99.7% |
| Tower Hamlets | Tower Hamlets admissions | 2,713 | 92.6% | 98.2% |
| Waltham Forest | Find on GOV.UK | 3,040 | 90.6% | 98.8% |
| Wandsworth | Wandsworth admissions | 2,403 | 78.5% | 95.1% |
| Westminster | Westminster admissions | 925 | 82.4% | 96.4% |
Figures are for September 2026 entry, the last round published (Department for Education: applications and offers). They describe that year's applicants by home borough. They are not a forecast for any child or school.
Email me before the Reception dates
A reminder 14, 7 and 1 day before the closing date and offer day. No account needed.
Questions parents ask
When is the deadline for Reception applications for September 2027?
Friday 15 January 2027. It is the national closing date for state primary school applications in England. Your council sets the cut-off time on the day.
When is primary National Offer Day in 2027?
Friday 16 April 2027. Your offer letter gives the date by which you must accept.
Which children start Reception in September 2027?
Children born between 1 September 2022 and 31 August 2023.
Does my child have to start school in September 2027?
Children must be in full-time education from the term after their fifth birthday. A place can be taken up later in the school year or part-time until then. Parents of children born from 1 April to 31 August can ask for a Reception start a year later; the admission authority decides.
Does the order of schools on the form matter?
Yes, but only in one way: if your child qualifies at more than one school you are offered the one you ranked highest. A school cannot give your child lower priority because you ranked it lower.
Related
- Key dates finder: your child's entry points from their date of birth.
- Open-day question sheet: a printable page to take on visits.
- Secondary transfer 2027 guide.
Deep Teaching gives information to support your decision. It cannot tell you whether your child will be offered a place at any school. Confirm every date with your council.