How do I apply for a London secondary school place for September 2027?
One form, to your own council, by Saturday 31 October 2026. What the form is, how many schools you can name, why the order cannot be used against you, and what happens on 1 March.
Apply to the council where you live, not to the schools, by Saturday 31 October 2026. London councils let you name up to six state secondary schools, in any borough, on one form. List them in the order you really prefer them: the order cannot lower your child's chance at any school. Offers arrive on Monday 1 March 2027.
Who applies this autumn, and to whom?
This round is for children now in Year 6, born between 1 September 2015 and 31 August 2016, who will start Year 7 in September 2027. GOV.UK says you apply through your local council, even if the schools you want are in another area.
The form is the Common Application Form, which councils call the CAF. In London it is filled in online through eAdmissions, the website shared by the London boroughs, or on paper from your council. Your home council passes your choices to the other boroughs. You never send a second form to another council.
What exactly is the deadline?
GOV.UK says you must apply by 31 October, and councils publish the cut-off time. Southwark, for example, gives Saturday 31 October 2026 at 11.59pm; Wandsworth says your application must be received by 31 October 2026. An application after that is late and is normally considered after all the on-time ones.
Two other deadlines sit around it. Faith schools and some academies ask for a supplementary information form, which goes to the school itself by its own date. And schools that test or band applicants set their own registration dates, often in the summer. Check both for every school on your list.
How many schools can I name?
Up to six. London councils co-ordinate their admissions together, and the City of London's 2027 booklet tells parents to list up to six schools in any London local authority. That is more than the minimum of three that the School Admissions Code requires in England (paragraph 2.1). You do not have to use all six, but each empty line is a fallback you have given up.
If no school on your list can offer a place, your council offers a place at another school that still has room. That school may be further away than any you would have chosen yourself.
Does putting a school second hurt my chances there?
No. This is the rule parents most often get wrong. Under the equal-preference system each school ranks every applicant by its own published oversubscription criteria, without seeing where you placed it. The School Admissions Code 2021 forbids giving "extra priority to children whose parents rank preferred schools in a particular order, including 'first preference first' arrangements" (paragraph 1.9(c)).
Order matters in one way only. If your child qualifies at more than one school, the council offers the one you ranked highest (paragraph 2.11). So the tempting move, putting a "safer" school first to protect your chances, protects nothing and can cost you the school you actually wanted. Our explainer on how school-place allocation works walks through an example.
What happens on 1 March 2027?
On-time applicants receive one offer. Wandsworth says families who applied online are emailed on the evening of 1 March 2027 by the London eAdmissions team. Your offer tells you how to accept and by when: Kensington and Chelsea and the City of London both give Monday 15 March 2027 as the deadline to accept or decline, and Southwark treats its residents' offers as accepted after 15 March 2027. Read your own letter: GOV.UK says you must accept by the deadline it gives.
If you are not offered a school you ranked above the one you got, your child stays on waiting lists, and you can appeal. Accepting the offered place does not stop either.
Frequently asked questions
Can I apply for a school in a different London borough?
Yes. You list it on your own council's form, and that council sends your application on. Each school still applies its own criteria, so check how distance is measured and whether siblings or faith count.
Should I put my catchment school first?
Only if it is genuinely your first choice. Some schools use a defined catchment area and others simply rank by distance; each school's admission arrangements say which. Put your real favourite first and make sure at least one school on the list is one your child is likely to qualify for.
Can I change my list after I submit?
Councils usually let you change it until the closing date. After 31 October a change is normally treated as a late application, so check your list before then.
Does a grammar or independent school go on this form?
A state grammar school does go on the form, as well as its own test registration. Independent schools do not: you apply to each one directly. Our guide to grammar schools in and near London explains the test side.
This guide explains the system that every London council uses. It cannot tell you how likely your child is to be offered a particular school: that depends on the school's 2027 criteria, where you live and who else applies. Read each school's admission arrangements and last year's allocation figures on its page, for example in the London school directory.
Not sure which of your six schools test, need a supplementary form or close registration early? Every 2027-entry date we hold is on one page, with the official source for each.
See the 2027 deadlines for your schools →Evidence level
Every date and rule is taken from GOV.UK, the School Admissions Code 2021 and London councils' own admissions pages, checked on 13 October 2026.
References
- GOV.UK. (2026). Apply for a secondary school place ↗ external. gov.uk
- Department for Education. (2021). School Admissions Code 2021 (paragraphs 1.9(c) and 2.11) ↗ external. Statutory guidance, gov.uk
- City of London Corporation. (2026). Secondary school admissions booklet, September 2027 ↗ external. cityoflondon.gov.uk
- GOV.UK. (2026). How to apply (closing dates and National Offer Day) ↗ external. gov.uk
- London Borough of Southwark. (2026). Key secondary admissions dates ↗ external. southwark.gov.uk
- London Borough of Southwark. (2026). Offer of a secondary school place ↗ external. southwark.gov.uk
- Wandsworth Council. (2026). Apply for a secondary school place ↗ external. wandsworth.gov.uk
- Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. (2026). Secondary admissions brochure 2027 ↗ external. rbkc.gov.uk
- London councils. (2026). London eAdmissions ↗ external. eadmissions.org.uk
Related research
London grammar schools: when do you register for the test, and does passing get you a place?
London's grammar schools test in Year 6, but registration closes months earlier: for September 2027 entry the windows we checked closed between March and September 2026. Passing does not guarantee a place, and the school must still be named on your council form by 31 October.
What happens if I miss the 31 October secondary school deadline?
Your child will still get a school place, but a late application is normally considered only after every on-time one, so popular schools may already be full. London's co-ordinated scheme accepts some late applications as on time if there is a good reason and they reach your council by Monday 7 December 2026.
How does school-place allocation actually work?
Under the national equal-preference system, every school on your form assesses your application independently, not in order. The local authority then offers you a place at the highest-preference school that has offered you one. Order only decides which of your offers you receive — not whether any specific school offers you.