1 Check if this application is right for you
Use the information in these pages if you live in West Sussex and want to apply for your child to start Year 7 at secondary school in September 2027.
There are different ways to apply if you have any of the following circumstances:
Apply for a child with an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP)
If your child has an EHCP, you cannot apply using this form. The Special Educational Needs Assessment Team (SENAT) team should already have sent you information. If you have not received information or you have any questions, contact the SENAT team.
Apply for other year groups
If your child needs a school place in a different year group or at a different point in the year, you need to apply to move schools.
Find more information about school age ranges and year groups.
If you live outside West Sussex
If you live outside West Sussex, you cannot apply to West Sussex for a place. You must apply through your own local council and ask them for any advice you need. Use GOV.UK to find your local council.
If we receive an application for a child that lives outside West Sussex, we will not process it.
2 About applying
You must read the:
- Information for parents: Admission to secondary school booklet 2026 (PDF, 1.8MB)
- relevant appendices - find these in the following pages
- guidance in these pages
It is your responsibility as a parent or carer to apply for a school place. You do not need to have a letter or official invitation to apply.
3 Choose your preference school
You can apply for up to 3 different schools. Find school details using our search for a school page.
We recommend you attend open events or arrange school visits if you can before you complete your application.
Rank the schools in order of preference - you should list the one you would most like your child to go to first.
We advise you to:
- use all 3 preferences
- enter your catchment school as one of your preferences - find your catchment area school
Things to think about when choosing your preferences
Be aware of admissions numbers
Be aware that each school will take different numbers of pupils. You can find the published admissions number (PAN) for each West Sussex school in the starting school booklet on the about applying page.
Understanding 'oversubscription criteria'
A school is 'oversubscribed' when it gets more applications than it has places available.
Schools have 'oversubscription criteria' for when this happens. These are rules we use to decide who gets a place and the order we apply them in.
You can find the oversubscription criteria for each school in the appendices:
Be realistic
When applying for schools that are oversubscribed, the further away you live the less likely you will receive an offer of a place there.
Check last year's allocation statistics before you apply. They can help you understand how likely your child is to get a place at a particular school. You can find the statistics in the information for parents booklet above.
Personal circumstances, such as child care arrangements, are not part of any oversubscription criteria. We will not consider these when we allocate a place.
Think about how you'll get your child to school
If you select a preference school that is not your nearest or catchment school, you may not receive help with transport. For more information, see our school transport pages.
Don't include a school you don't want
Do not include a school that you do not want as one of your preferences as we may offer you a place there.
4 Before you apply
Apply on time
Make sure you are aware of the key dates for applying.
Be aware that if you apply after the closing date you are far less likely to get a place at one of your preferred schools.
You cannot change your preferences after the application deadline unless you have a genuine reason, for example, if a sibling changes school.
In case of technical problems, do not leave it to the last minute to apply.
Check if any of your preferred schools require a supplementary information form
Find out whether any of your preferred schools requires a supplementary information form (SIF). The documents below show which schools require one. They also include copies of the forms. Use the document for your area of the county.
SIFs include additional information that is relevant to a particular school's oversubscription criteria, such as church attendance.
Complete the form if you are applying under any of the school's criteria. Return it directly to the school before the application deadline. If you do not, we cannot consider this information when allocating places.
Make sure your child has only one application
We can only accept one application per child. If you have shared parental responsibility for your child, you should agree preferences with the other parent before making an application.
If you change your preferences or make a new application, whether online or on paper, it will invalidate any previous application.
Application checklist
Before you submit your application, you should make sure you can answer the questions below.
Have you:
- found out about your local schools?
- read the oversubscription criteria for all the schools you are considering?
- identified 3 preferred schools?
- checked if any of your preferences are for Church Aided, Foundation or Academy schools that require a supplementary information form (SIF)?
- made a note of the deadline for applications?
- planned when and where to make your online application?
- ensured that your child only has one application?
You can print these checklist questions using this document:
5 Apply for a place
We strongly recommend that you apply online by the relevant deadlines.
Find information about deadlines on the key dates for applying page.
When you apply, you should give us an email address. We will share this with the allocated school as parents and schools often communicate electronically.
Apply online
If you do not have access to the internet, you can get free internet access at West Sussex libraries or our family hubs to apply for a school place.
All applications require you to set up a new account on the parent portal. If you have already set up an account, you will need to log in.
Make sure that you know the username and password for your account so that you can access your account again later if you need to.
Apply online [with the late application form] (external link)After you have submitted your application, you can amend your preferences, address, or other details, using the form below. You will need your application reference number from the portal.
Change of application details form (external link)Have an application form sent to you
If you cannot use the online application system, we will email an application form to you.
You can also ask us to send you a printed paper form by post.
To request either of these methods, contact the Pupil Admissions Team.
Returning your application form
It is your responsibility to make sure we receive your application.
You must have proof that we have received your application. We cannot investigate missing forms unless you can provide evidence that the Pupil Admissions Team received it.
If your form arrives after the deadline, we will consider your preferences after allocating all of the applications that arrived on time.
If you are sending your form to us by email or post, we recommend that you keep a copy of your completed application form.
If we have sent you an application form by email, you should return it by email.
To return a paper form that we sent you by post, you should:
- send it by recorded delivery
- check that we have received it
- make sure that you keep proof that we have received it
If you don't put an email address on your application form, the admissions office will contact you to request one.
6 Offer dates
Your application is 'on time' if we received it before 11.59 pm on 31 October 2025.
Your application is 'out of time' if we received after 11.59pm on 31 October 2025 and up to 28 November 2025.
We consider out of time application preferences after reviewing all applications we received on time.
How we will inform you of the outcome
For both on time and out of time online applications we will email you the outcome of your application on Monday 2 March 2026. We send emails throughout the day so we can't give you an exact time.
If you applied by paper form we will email the result later on Monday 2 March 2026 if you gave us an email address on your application.
If you do not have an email address we will send you a letter by second class post.
We cannot give you any information over the phone.
Late applications
If we received your application on or after Friday 28 November 2025 it is late and outside the normal admissions round. We process these applications after 30 March 2026. We will contact you after this date.
7 After you get your school offer
If we could not offer your child a place at one of your preferred schools, you can find information to help you understand why in the allocation statistics document below.
Use the document to find information about the 2026 intake for each school in West Sussex including the:
- total number of places we offered
- last criteria or category
- furthest distance offered within that criteria or category
Allocation statistics
You will need to cross-reference this information with the relevant schools' admission policy. You can find this in the information for parents booklet and appendices on these pages.
Waiting lists and appeals
If you did not get the school place you wanted, we will put your child on a waiting list for your preferred schools. You may also want to appeal.
Find more information about waiting lists and appeals.