Apply to start school or transfer to junior, secondary or KS4 school in September 2026

• If you submitted an application online by the deadline you will be sent an email by 5pm on National Offer Day.  This will tell you which school your child has been allocated.
• If you have difficulties opening the PDF document on your mobile phone or tablet, this may be due to the app you are using to open the letter (the default app on Samsung devices is not compatible).  You can download a compatible app such as Google Drive or Adobe Acrobat, or alternatively, attempt to download and open the PDF on a different device.
• If you do not receive your email by 5pm please check your spam folder.
• If you applied online you will also be able to log back into Parent Portal to check your allocation.
• If you applied using a paper application and did not provide an email address we will send you a letter in the post which will arrive after National Offer Day.

Please note that parents/carers are responsible for getting their child to and from school. 

However, your child may be entitled to support under Cornwall Council’s Home to School Travel Assistance Policy.  

If you are in any doubt as to whether your child would be eligible for home to school transport please contact the Transport Coordination Service (TCS) before naming your preferred school/s. 

Telephone: 0300 1234 222
Email: transporteligibility@cornwall.gov.uk

If your child has an Education, Health and Care (EHC) Plan you do not need to complete an application form.

Please contact the Statutory SEN Service (01872 324242) for more information.

You can apply for up to three schools.

Before you decide which schools to apply for, you could:

• arrange a visit by contacting the school
• have a look at the school’s website
• ask for a copy of their prospectus.

You should also…

Read the school’s oversubscription criteria

This will help you understand how places will be allocated.

Find out if your child would be eligible for school transport

Please note that parents/carers are responsible for getting their child to and from school.  However, your child may be entitled to support under Cornwall Council’s Home to School Transport Policy.  

If you are in any doubt as to whether your child would be eligible for home to school transport please contact the Transport Coordination Service (TCS) before naming your preferred school/s.

Telephone: 0300 1234 222
Email: transporteligibility@cornwall.gov.uk

Name more than one preference including your nearest school/s

If you only put one preference and we cannot offer you that school you might be allocated a school some distance away as other parents/carers who did express additional preferences will take priority for the nearer schools.

Naming more than one preference will not give you any less chance of getting a place at your preferred school.

It is important that you are aware of how applications will be ranked and places allocated at your preferred schools.

Please see the Admission Arrangements page for more information.

Please note, you will need to supply supporting evidence if:

• you are applying for a place at a faith school and
• you indicate on your application form that you feel that you should be given priority under that school’s faith criteria/criterion (this is as described in their admission arrangements).

You may need to complete a Supplementary Information Form or provide evidence in another way. Please read the school’s Admission Arrangements. 

Alternatively, you can contact the school to find out what is required and return any evidence direct to the school.

When applying online you will not be able to make any changes to your preference(s) or details once the application has been submitted.

• For a change of preference, please go to the Change of Preference page.
• For all other changes please contact the School Admissions Team.

Applications received after the deadline will be dealt with in ‘round two’ and some schools will already be full.