Apply for a secondary school place

Children with an education, health and care (EHC) plan

If your child has an education, health and care (EHC) plan, their school admission will be managed by our SEND (special educational needs and disabilities) EHC team and not as part of our general admissions. During the summer term of the penultimate year at your current school, the school will invite you to a review meeting called a ‘transfer review’. At this meeting, the school that you would like your child to transfer to will be discussed and the request will be processed by our SEND team, who will let you know your child’s confirmed school by 15 February 2026.

Your child’s current school will also be able to provide you with an information booklet regarding this process.

If you have any further queries or concerns about this process, please contact us on 0300 300 8356. If you prefer to email you can do so at ehcenquiries@centralbedfordshire.gov.uk.

Special Educational Needs and Disability - Local Offer.

Applying from outside Central Bedfordshire

If you live outside of Central Bedfordshire you need to make an application through your home local authority (where you pay your Council Tax). If you are applying for schools in Central Bedfordshire they will forward your application on to us. They will write to you on the offer day with the outcome of your application.

You'll also need to check with your council about school transport, as you won't be eligible for free transport from us and can't assume you'll be offered a concessionary bus pass.

For families living in our neighbouring authorities' areas, we have included below the web address for their school admissions webpages, which should include details about how to make your application:

• Bedford Borough Council
• Buckinghamshire County Council
• Cambridgeshire County Council
• Hertfordshire County Council
• Luton Borough Council
• Milton Keynes Council

Can my child attend our catchment school?

You need to make your application on-time in order to be considered for your preferred school(s). Living in the catchment area will give your child priority however it does not automatically guarantee a place at your catchment school. If there are more applications than places available, the admissions criteria for the school will be applied. Should you not get your preferred school(s), we will ensure that your child is offered a place at the next nearest school with places available.

Do I have to apply for my catchment or nearest school?

No. You have the right to express a preference for up to 3 schools/academies which provide education suitable for your child’s age. You may wish to apply for your catchment school as this will usually mean that if a place is not available at your preferred school, you may still have priority for a place at your catchment school. If you do not ask for a place at your catchment school or nearest school, it could result in your child attending a school some distance from your home. You may be responsible for transporting your child to that school. (If your preference school is unsuccessful there is no guarantee you will get a place at your catchment school if you do not apply for it).

Are places offered on a ‘first come, first served’ basis?

All applications received by the deadline are considered at the same time and priority is not given to those who put the school as a first preference. Decisions about who to offer places to are made solely using the oversubscription criteria for the school, no other information is taken into consideration.

Do I have to apply for three schools?

No, you can apply for up to three schools. Naming more than one school will not weaken your chance of gaining a place at your first preference school. Similarly naming the same school more than once will not increase your chance of gaining a place at that school, so therefore it is worth considering other local schools in case a place cannot be offered at your preferred school.

Will my child be entitled to school transport?

Find how to apply for school transport. It is important to consider how your child will travel to school before submitting your application.

If your child is living with you due to a court agreement or specific issue order

If yes, please provide a copy of the court order or specific issue order at the time you submit your application.

Fraudulent applications

We take very seriously any attempt to obtain a school place by fraud. All fraud allegations are investigated.

If you know someone who intends to or has used a false address to get a school place, you can report this confidentially to our Fraud Investigation Team by emailing benefitfraud@centralbedfordshire.gov.uk or calling 0300 300 5476.

You do not need to give your name but please provide as much information as possible so that we can investigate the matter fully.

If we find that a school place was obtained using a false address we may withdraw our offer, even after the child has started school, and give it to the child who was entitled to the place. We consider every school place obtained through deception denies another child their legitimate place.

We will not accept a temporary address if you still have a property that was previously used as a home address, nor will we accept a temporary address used solely or mainly to obtain a school place. You may be asked to supply additional information to explain why you are not able to use your permanent address.

Multiple and conflicting applications (such as children living between two addresses)

We will only accept one application per child. Anyone with parental responsibility can make an application. If you share parental responsibility, all those who share responsibility should be in agreement about the preferences and information submitted. We expect separated parents to agree on school places before an application is made. The local authority is not in a position to intervene in disputes between parents over a school application and will request that these are resolved privately.

Where different applications are received or we are made aware of a dispute between two parents, we will only process one application until one of the following is met:

• written agreement is provided from both parents; or
• one joint application is made, signed by all parties; or
• a court order is obtained confirming which parent’s application carries precedence; or
• where it’s not clear who the child is with majority of the week, we will use the address of the child’s registered GP to determine which application will be processed

Whilst we appreciate differences between parents can be a difficult time for all involved, including possible court action, without a court order, the School Admissions Team must remain neutral and ensure the child isn’t disadvantaged.

Children of crown servants

If you are a Crown Servant and you and your family are moving into Central Bedfordshire in time for September 2026 you can apply directly to us if you provide an official letter from the relevant government department detailing your relocation date and address or proposed address if this is yet to be confirmed. We will then use this address in the allocation process.

Applications must be submitted before the national closing dates to be processed in the on-time allocation. Any applications received after the closing date will be processed under the late allocations process. If you do not have this document, you will need to apply to your current local authority.

Feeder schools

Some schools give a higher priority to children from outside the catchment area who go to one of the feeder schools, however this does not guarantee a place. If any of the schools you nominate have feeder schools as part of their admissions criteria you must provide these details on your application for us to consider this when we process your application.

Please note some schools impose a time limit for attendance at a feeder school.

Please look at the admission arrangements for 2026 for the academies and schools you are interested in for further details regarding any feeder school criteria they may have.

Change of circumstances

Applications are processed in the on-time allocation as they are on 31 October 2025. A change in your circumstances could have an effect on the criterion your application is processed under and therefore whether you are successful in being offered a place at your preferred school.

If your circumstances change it is your responsibility to inform us in writing of the change and when this took place. If we are not notified of the change then your application may be processed inaccurately.

• if the change of circumstances takes place before or on 31 October 2025 and we are notified by this date then we will add the information to your application and it will be considered in the on-time allocation
• if the change of circumstances takes place after 31 October 2025, or we are notified after this date, then the information will not be added to your application until after the on-time allocation
• if you notify us of a change in your circumstances and it will not have an impact on the criterion your application is processed under we will let you know

Changing your mind

If you would like to change the school preferences on your application, or the order you have listed them, you need to complete a change of preference form (or we can post one out to you on request). Changes we receive before or on 31 October 2025 will be processed as on-time, your application will be amended to reflect the changes and these will be considered in the allocation.

If you make a change to your application from 1 November 2025, these changes will not be processed until the late allocation round.

How are school places allocated?

All applications received between September 2025 and 31 October 2025 will be considered at the same time.