Pick your 3 school preferences when applying for year R and 3

Hampshire parents and carers with children due to start school in Year R and 3 at a junior school next year. Can now apply for their child’s school place for September 2024. School applications are open until 15 January 2024. Parents are being reminded to name three schools on their applications. To give them the best chance of being offered a place at one of their preferred schools.

Councillor Steve Forster, Hampshire County Council’s Executive Member for Education, said: “Each year, our school admissions team deals with over 21,000 primary school applications. As with the recent round of secondary school applications for September 2024. We want to emphasise again how important it is for parents to submit their primary school applications on time. And to indicate three school preferences.”

Over the last six years, 97 per cent of parents secured a school place for their child at one of their three preferred schools. With between 90 and 93 per cent being offered a place at their first preference school.

Where three schools are named, very few children are not offered a place at one of these preferences. However, where it is not possible to offer a place at any of the schools named, the Local Authority will offer a place at the catchment school (if places remain) or the nearest school (measured by straight line) with a place available. Assistance with transport may be available, where the eligibility criteria is met. Parents need to name their child’s catchment school as one of their preferences if they intend to apply for travel assistance.

In the circumstances where a refusal letter is issued for a school, children will be added to the waiting list. Often spaces become available via the waiting list because families move home or decide on a different school. Any parent who is unhappy with the place that has been allocated for their child can appeal against the decision.

Parents can now go online to submit their applications. They can log back into the system to amend their applications at any time before the closing date on 15 January 2024. Applications must be resubmitted after making any changes.

Those who require support with their applications are encouraged to attend one of the following library drop-in sessions where they will be guided through the process:

• Monday 11 December, 9.30am-3.30pm – Basingstoke Discovery Centre, Festival Place, Basingstoke, RG21 7LS
• Wednesday 13 December, 9.30am-3.30pm – Gosport Discovery Centre, High Street, Gosport, PO12 1BT
• Tuesday 9 January – Havant Library, 9.30am-3.30pm – The Meridian Centre, Elm Lane, Havant, PO9 1UN
• Wednesday 10 January, 9.30am-3.30pm – Andover Library, Chantry Centre, 53 Chantry Street, Andover, SP10 1LT
• Thursday 11 January, 9.30am-3.30pm – Farnborough Library, Pinehurst, Farnborough, GU14 7JZ

Parents who apply on time will be notified of the outcome of their application on 16 April 2024. Application advice:

• Name three preferences to give yourself the best chance of being allocated a preferred school choice.
• Use the County Council’s school catchment area finder to check the catchment school for your address.
• Name your catchment school as one of your preferences if you intend to apply for help with transport to school.
• It is helpful to read the schools’ admissions policies and look at previous years’ admissions data. This will give an indication of how many places schools can allocate and the criteria that will be used to allocate places.