Gedling borough parents are being urged to send off their school admissions application before the deadline next week.
The deadline for applications is next Saturday (October 31).
If your child has just started in year 6 and is due to start secondary school in Nottinghamshire in September 2021, you must submit your application by the deadline and list four school preferences for the best chance of getting your child into one of your preferred schools.
Across Nottinghamshire over 1800 families have still not applied for a school place.
Nottinghamshire County Council’s service director for education, learning and skills, Marion Clay, said: “Applying within the deadline and using all four of your school preferences is key. Listing only one school does not increase the chances of being offered a place at that school, so it really is important to list four schools.
Remember: it’s not too late – parents can make changes to their online application up until the deadline, you just need to remember to resubmit.”
“The good news is that last year, almost 97% of families who applied on time for a secondary school place were offered one of their preferred schools.”
Applying after the October 31 deadline significantly reduces the chances of being offered a preferred school as places will have been allocated on national offer day to people who applied on time.
The easiest way to apply for a place is online at:
www.nottinghamshire.gov.uk/admissions
The Council’s committee chairman for children and young people’s services, Councillor Philip Owen, stressed : “It is crucial that parents give themselves the best possible chance to get their child into their preferred school – if the application is late or only one school is listed, this could substantially reduce their chances of getting their child into one of their preferred schools. Using all four school preferences is very important – last year of those families that were not successful for any of their preferences, 55.6% had listed only one preference.
“The council processes all of the applications received by this date at the same time using schools’ oversubscription criteria to prioritise applications when necessary.”
Nottinghamshire residents still need to apply through Nottinghamshire County Council, even if they wish to apply for schools in other areas such as Nottingham City or Derbyshire.
For more information about the application process, schools, the number of places available or how places are allocated, please visit: www.nottinghamshire.gov.uk/admissions or call 0300 500 80 80.
