Moving Back to Uk from Netherlands

[AgaAnna1]

Hello, we are currently thinking of moving back to UK after 2 years in the Netherlands and as much as we like it here and our kids like their life and school, due to all sorts of personal circumstances we may have to move back. Our kids are 4 & almost 7 . The question is how do we even begin applying for their schools. We are looking at moving to Cambridge and we would be looking to rent a house. Now Our Younger 4 year old I would apply for a reception place for him to start September 2021. However the older one I need to apply In Year, do I need to find out first which schools have places available? Is that possible to find out ? It all seems really complicated and I worry would they even have a chance to be in the same school as I can not imagine otherwise. Have anyone experienced such process? Also has anyone experienced the kids having to catch up the curriculum they have missed while living abroad how did they find it? Thank you!

My understanding is that you have to be physically back(resident) in the UK to apply for a place in a state school, although you could find out in advance which ones have spaces at the moment (although that might change by the time you get back). There's no obligation for the LA to put them in the same school but you would probably get sibling priority if a place came up for the other one.

The cut off for primary school applications was 15 Jan, so both children will be in year applications.
this may help.

Good luck

I live in Cambridge. The good news is: most of the primary schools are good and there’s often a degree of movement because of visiting academics coming and going. Reception places are allocated in April. The LA then publishes a list of schools with places remaining. Yes, you’ll need an address here before you can apply. If you are due to arrive before the 2nd of May, you could still submit a late application to be considered for the second allocation round. Feel free to PM me if you have any questions about schools or Cambridge in general. Good luck, whatever you decide.