• Admissions
• Secondary admissions
• • Deciding on the right school for your child
  • Application results
  • How do Islington's waiting lists work?
  • Contact details for other LEAs
  • Application for transfer from primary to secondary school in September 2009
  • Frequently asked questions and other information

Frequently asked questions and other information

Applying for secondary school place for September 2009

The booklet will be available in August, and will sent to your child's home address. If you are an Islington resident, the application form will be sent to your home address during the first week of September 2008. If your child attends an Islington primary school, but you do not live in Islington, your child's details will be sent to your home borough so they can send you their booklet and application form. If you are not an Islington resident and your child does not attend an Islington primary school, you should contact the school admissions section in the Education Authority in which you live to request an application form. You can name up to six schools on the form in the order that you prefer them.

Do not name the same school more than once - this will not increase your chances of getting a place. It is important that you name as many schools as you are able (up to six) as this means if we cannot offer your child a place at your preferred school, we may be able to offer them a place at one of your other preferences. Naming other schools will not in any way affect your claim for a place at your preferred school. All preferences will be treated equally in accordance with the over subscription criteria for each school.

Your preference order (rankings) will only be looked at if your child could potentially be offered a place at more than one school, in which case a place will be offered at the highest ranked of those potential offers. Any lower preferences that may have been successful will be withdrawn as only one offer can be made to your child.

If your child goes to an Islington primary school, you should fill in the form and give it to your child's primary school headteacher. If your child goes to an independent school or a primary school outside Islington, you should fill in the form and return it to: Cambridge Education @ Islington, School Admissions Section, 222 Upper Street, London N1 1XR, by 24 October 2008.

Can I apply on-line?

Yes, a system has been developed for all parents to apply online via a central London portal that is linked to the Pan-London Admissions database. The link to apply online will be available from 1 September 2008.

There is also set up a dedicated email address for enquires only - admissions.camb-ed@islington.gov.uk

How do I apply to an Islington voluntary aided/foundation school or academy?

If you want to apply to an Islington voluntary aided/foundation school or an academy - Central Foundation, Mount Carmel RC Technology College for Girls, St Aloysius' RC College, St Mary Magdalene Academy and City of London Academy - you will need to apply using the application form provided by the admissions section of the borough in which you live. For Mount Carmel and St Aloysius' RC College you must also complete the appropriate appendix supplementary form, which can be found in the back of the booklet. Please fill in the application form and return it to your home admissions section and return the appendix registration form to the relevant voluntary aided school (NOT your home admissions section). Please ensure that you complete BOTH forms as the supplementary form is NOT the application form. Before you apply for a voluntary aided/foundation school or academy, make sure that your child is likely to be offered a place. If you are making your application online you will be prompted to complete a supplementary form where appropriate.

If you are not clear about your child's claim for a place for religious reasons, check with the school.

If you need help to fill in your application form, please contact your child's primary headteacher or phone your home school admissions section. They will be pleased to help you. You can also request help from a new service that has been set up to help parent/carers in the transition process called the Choice Advisory Service . If you would like more information about this service , please contact Tel: 020 7561 6742. 

How do you decide who you offer places to at community schools?

We cannot promise that your child will get a place at your preferred school. All schools have a fixed number of places that they can offer. Some schools get too many applications for the number of places they have. If a community secondary school gets too many applications, places are offered to children in the following order.

• Looked after Children (Children in the care of the local authority) and children with a Statement of Special Educational Needs
• Children who have a brother or sister living at the same address who will be at the school in September 2008 (years 7 to 11 only)
• Children living nearest the school. The distance from your home to the school is measured on a computerised map using the safest shortest walking route. We would not look at the route you could take by car or public transport.

As a special rule, the Director of Education' Services can agree that a child should be given a place at a particular school because of medical or social reasons, or because of special educational needs. However, a suitable professional, for example a doctor, must support your reasons in recent documentation.

If you think you have a special case, you must explain in your application how your preferred school can meet your child's needs better than any other school. You must do this when you first apply, even if you think that the school is not likely to be full, so you will be offered a place anyway. This information must relate to the particular school you are applying for. We will not normally consider special cases after places at the school have been offered.

Will I get a place for my child at the school I prefer?

You can arrange an appointment with them before you fill in your form. You can get further information from the Schools Admissions Section, for the area in which the school is based. (For Islington schools phone 0207 527 5517).

Do I live close enough to the school I prefer

If a school gets more applications than it has places available, the distance from your home to the school is important in deciding whether your child will be offered a place. So it is important that you get advice about whether you live close enough to the school to be offered a place. Your child's headteacher or the School Admissions Section will not be able to tell you whether you will definitely be offered a place. But they may be able to tell you how likely you are to be offered a place based on information from previous years.

Am I more likely to get the school that I named as my first preference?

The preference system has changed from last year. In previous years first preference applications were given priority consideration before those stating the same school as a lower preference. From now on all school preferences are considered together and the admissions criteria administered equally for all level (rank) of preference. The rank or order of your preference will only be used if it is possible for your child to get into more than one of your preferred schools. If this is the case the place will be given for the one that you ranked highest. Any lower preferences that could have been offered will automatically be withdrawn as only one offer will be made for each child.

What if I do not get a place at any of my preferred schools?

If a place cannot be offered at any of your preferred schools and you are an Islington resident, we will provide you with details of alternative schools that have vacancies. If you are not an Islington resident you should contact your home school admissions section for assistance. It will not always be possible to meet your preference for a single-sex or mixed school. Find out more about how to appeal against a decision not to give your child a place at your preferred school.

What other information might you ask for when I apply for a school place?

In the past some parents have given false information about their home address to get a place at their preferred school. We must do all we can to make sure that this does not happen, as it may stop your child getting a place at a school.

For this reason, the School Admissions Section may ask for proof of your address. You may be asked to show recent documents such as a Council Tax bill and Child Benefit Book/statement.

We can take legal action against anyone who has given false information on purpose. Their child could also lose their school place.

What should I do if I decide not to apply for an Islington secondary school?

If you live in Islington and you decide to only apply for schools outside Islington, you must still complete the Islington residents' application form for your application to the out borough school and we will forward the details to the boroughs in which the schools is/are located. You should let your child's primary school headteacher or the School Admissions Section know if you are making private arrangements for your child's education. This is because we have a responsibility to make sure that your child has a school place for September 2009.

How do I apply to an independent school?

If you prefer, you can make separate arrangements for your child's education at an independent school. You can get a list of independent schools from:

The Independent Schools Council
Grosvenor Gardens House
35 Grosvenor Gardens
London SW1W 0BS
(Phone: 020 7798 1560).

We do not give help with fees for independent schools.

What happens if I apply for a secondary school after the closing date of 24 October 2008?

Please apply for schools before the closing date of 24 October 2008. If you apply for a secondary school after the closing date your application will be considered but only after applications made before the closing date. However, if your application is late because:

• a proven administrative error has occurred on behalf of either the school (primary) or the admissions section; or
• the pupil has just moved into the area from outside London.

We may be able to consider your application with those that were made on time. In this case, please phone the Schools Admissions Section on 020 7527 5515.

If you apply after the allocation of secondary school places has taken place it is likely that most secondary schools will have filled all their places. If the school that you would like a place at is full when you apply, your child will be placed on the waiting list. This section gives details of how Islington school waiting lists work and explains how you can appeal against a decision not to offer a place at your preferred school.