How do I find out which primary schools we can apply to?

[SummerSun1234]

I'm sure a friend showed me a website a few years ago which shows last years catchment area for each local school and whether you are in that catchment area. Does anyone know of a website that does that? Or anything that would help me work out which schools I can realistically expect to get DC1 into next year? Any other tips on navigating the primary school applications process for the first time would be much appreciated!! Thanks!

Look on your local council's website and you will be able to access all the information you need.

Your local council website should tell you that, and there should also be info about last years admissions - usually a PDF that gives details as to how many children were admitted to each school in each admissions category.

'Catchment areas' is a misleading term these days as most schools don't have a set area they will accept pupils from. Council websites may show you the furthest distance pupils have been accepted from in previous years but this is only a guide. If you look on the schools website they will show you admission criteria. Most will have children in care at the top of the list, then siblings of existing pupils, then it may include active members of the church, residents of the parish etc, then distance from the school (usually as the crow flies). Other things to take into account are whether it is a one form entry school or more (so one class per year, I.e only 30 pupils admitted each year)

Hope this helps

Not all areas have catchments, but for the places which do you are likely to be in the priority admissions area for only one school.

Those maps must be readily available with all other admissions information .

But, being in catchment might not be enough, if you are towards the edges of it, and it's a bumper year for in-catchment siblings.

So you also need to look up the effective admissions distance for each nearby school. This infimshoukd be on the school or LEA website. But do bear in mind that this is much more changeable year-to-year (changes to schoo reputation, new housing built nearby, lots of siblings a couple of years after a bulge class etc). So treat these figures with some caution, and try to find out info for the past few years to show trends..

Also, remember that they are based on offers made on National Offers Day, not on who actually starts in September.

I can't recommend an app/website that has good quality information, other than your local LEA/ schools themselves. All infomalso needs to be read in conjunction with what the entrance criteria say.

Try this link ... I can't confirm how accurate it is but hopefully it gives you an idea of schools in your area

www.192.com/schools/

Our local council doesn't publish the info but you can ring and ask.

I tried looking at 192.com for a couple of areas and it was very, very wrong (did not allow for faith criteria, ignored the actual boundary of a non-circular catchment area).

I have not found a single commercial website that I wouid be happy to rely on.

Does your LEA really not collate and publish this info? Most do.

If you're in London, this site is great

www.schoolcatchment.co.uk/

Bear in mind that it shows first-round offers, so you can be outside a circle and get a place from the waiting list

I had a spreadsheet with all the local ones, their rating, any special conditions (one still had a parish boundary, others faith based etc) and the max distance admitted last year if oversubscribed.
There were 42 (!!) within 3 miles.
Info was off council website.

You should also find out how they assign applicants and how many choices you can list.

Definitely check with your local council as it varies between authorities and some of the external websites such as 192.com don't have the right local information.

You need to understand what admissions criteria apply and whether your council operates a catchment/priority areas system.

This thread is very helpful too.