Secondary School Applications 2026: How to Order Your Preferences

Written for September 2027 entry to secondary schools in England. The national closing date for secondary school applications is Saturday 31 October 2026, and offers arrive on Monday 1 March 2027. The order of your preferences matters less than most parents fear: each school judges your child only against its own admission criteria and is not told where you ranked it. What protects your child is using every preference, in your true order, with at least one school you are very likely to get.

Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland run their own systems.

The dates between now and March 2027

Only two dates below are national. The rest are set by schools or areas, so check each school's website or your council's secondary brochure.

Online systems usually stay open late on the 31st; Kensington and Chelsea's lets you change preferences until 11.59pm. But it is a Saturday, and if a document will not upload you are unlikely to reach anyone at the council. Submit by Friday 30 October and keep the confirmation email. You apply to the council where you live, even if every school on your list is in a neighbouring area.

Does the order of preferences matter? How equal preference works

Yes, but not the way most parents think. The School Admissions Code bans schools from giving extra priority to families who rank them higher, including "first preference first" schemes. Each school ranks every child who named it against its own criteria, as if it were the only school on the form.

The council then looks at every school that could offer your child a place and offers the one you ranked highest. Lower offers are released to other families. So your order only decides which offer you get when more than one school could take your child.

Worked example 1: aim high at no cost

Priya lives 1.4 miles from School A, which last year filled to 1.1 miles. School B filled to 1.6 miles, and School C, the nearest, had spare places. Her parents list A, B, C.

• School A ranks Priya on distance. If its cut-off stays at 1.1 miles, she misses out.
• Schools B and C would both take her. The council offers B, because it sits higher on the form.
• If fewer siblings apply to A this year and its cut-off stretches to 1.5 miles, Priya gets A.

Putting the long shot first cost nothing. Listing B first would not have made B more likely, and would have thrown away the chance of A.

Worked example 2: why a blank slot costs you

Sam's parents list only School A, hoping it shows commitment. It does not: government guidance says listing only one school will not increase your chances there. School A fills on distance and Sam is outside the line.

The council must still offer a place, but usually at the nearest school with places left - possibly one Sam's parents never visited, further away than the realistic options they left off.

The rule of thumb: list schools in your genuine order, aim high with the first one or two, and include at least one school where you are confident your child meets the criteria.

Admission criteria: what each type means and how to check last year's cut-off

Every school must admit a child whose education, health and care (EHC) plan names it, and must give top priority to children who are or have been in care. After that, an oversubscribed school allocates by its published criteria, in order.

Finding last year's cut-off

Your council's secondary brochure or admissions pages usually show how each school's places went last year: how many under each criterion, and the distance of the last child offered a place. Read several years if published. Cut-offs move with the size of the year group and the number of siblings, so a school that reached 1.2 miles last year could stop at 0.9 miles this year. If you are close to last year's line, treat that school as a maybe and make sure a lower preference is a near-certainty.

Ofsted report cards: what the new grades mean

Since 10 November 2025, Ofsted has inspected schools under a renewed framework. Instead of a single-word judgement, each inspection produces a report card grading each area on a five-point scale: exceptional, strong standard, expected standard, needs attention, urgent improvement.

Safeguarding is judged separately as "met" or "not met". The graded areas are inclusion, curriculum and teaching, achievement, attendance and behaviour, personal development and wellbeing, and leadership and governance, plus early years and post-16 where a school has them. Ofsted says the new grades cannot be compared with the old ones, so do not read "needs attention" as "requires improvement" renamed.

Most schools on your shortlist will not have a report card yet: Ofsted's annual report, published in July 2026, counted 1,420 state-funded schools inspected under the new framework. So you will see three kinds of report:

• A report card, if inspected from 10 November 2025.
• Four separate grades with no overall verdict, if inspected between September 2024, when single-word judgements were scrapped, and November 2025.
• The old single-word judgement, if last inspected before September 2024.

Progress 8 is missing for two years

Progress 8 compares pupils' GCSE results with those of pupils nationally who had similar Key Stage 2 results. It could not be calculated for 2025 or 2026, because those year groups' Key Stage 2 tests were cancelled in 2020 and 2021. The latest score you will find is from 2024; it returns for 2027. Meanwhile you will see Attainment 8 and the percentage achieving grade 5 or above in English and maths, figures the government itself cautions reflect intake as well as teaching.

Grammar schools on the form

If your child sat the 11+, name any grammar you would accept wherever you genuinely rank it, because equal preference means it cannot cost you your other schools. Our 11+ results guide explains the score, and if it fell short, our near-miss routes guide covers what can still change before 31 October.

Open-evening questions worth asking

Many schools run open mornings or tours into late October, and a morning shows the school at work. Take this list:

• How many Year 7 places are there, and how many went to siblings last year?
• What was the furthest distance offered, and do you expect it to change?
• How are Year 7s set for maths and English, when, and on what evidence?
• What happens in the first fortnight for a child who knows nobody?
• Who is the SENCo, and how is SEND support organised in Year 7?
• What did your last inspection ask you to improve, and what has changed?

After the form: SATs, offer day and Year 7

Between November and March nothing moves, so Year 6 can get back to Year 6. Key Stage 2 SATs run from Monday 10 to Thursday 13 May 2027, and many secondary schools use the results for initial Year 7 sets. Our SATs preparation timeline shows what to do when.

On Monday 1 March 2027:

• Accept the offer by the date in the letter, even if you plan to appeal or wait for another school.
• Join waiting lists for schools you prefer. They must be kept until at least 31 December 2027 and re-ranked by the criteria each time a child is added, so joining date does not count.
• Appeal in time: you get at least 20 school days from the decision letter, and appeals must be heard within 40 school days of that deadline.

For the move itself, see our Year 7 settling-in guide.

Frequently asked questions

What happens if I miss the 31 October deadline?

Apply anyway, straight away. Most councils consider late applications only after every on-time one, by which point popular schools are usually full. Many make an exception for a good reason, such as moving into the area, if allocations have not started. Your council's coordinated scheme sets out its rules. Before the deadline, you can usually reorder or change preferences online as often as you like.

We are moving house. Which address counts?

Usually the address where your child lives on a date the council sets, with proof of a move such as a rental agreement, mortgage documents or deeds. Tell the admissions team as soon as the move is certain, because councils differ on updating an application after the closing date.

Does an older sibling at the school guarantee a place?

No. Many schools prioritise siblings, but not all, and each must define what it means by a sibling - step-siblings or other children at the same address may or may not count. Check the older child will still be on roll in September 2027.

Sources: GOV.UK School admissions guide (apply by 31 October; offers on 1 March or the next working day; listing one school does not increase your chances; nearest school with places; proof of address; appeal timings). School Admissions Code 2021 (at least three preferences; no "first preference first"; catchment, feeder, faith, banding and sibling rules; waiting lists to 31 December). Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, secondary hints and tips for September 2027 entry. Council coordinated schemes on late applications. Ofsted: Understanding Ofsted report cards and grades; inspection reforms from 10 November 2025; school inspection toolkit, September 2026; annual report 2025 to 2026. DfE: single headline grades scrapped (September 2024); secondary accountability measures 2025 guidance. Standards and Testing Agency, 2027 key stage 2 test dates.