Education

Apply for a primary place

When and how to apply for your child to start in the reception year at a primary or infant school or in year 3 at a junior school.

  • Your child must be in full-time education at the beginning of the term following his or her fifth birthday. If your child was born between 1 September 2020 and 31 August 2021 they are due to start primary school in September 2025.
  • If your child is currently in year 2 at an infant school in Devon, they are due to transfer to junior school in September 2025.
  • Applications for starting primary or junior school in September 2025 opened on 15 November 2024 and closed on 15 January 2025.

The date that all allocations of school places are announced in England is known as ‘offer day’. For September 2025 primary school starters this will be on 16 April 2025. More information can be found in the offer day section below.

  • Before you apply

    Before you apply we encourage you to:

    • read our step-by-step guide to normal round admissions for the type of school you are applying to, including:
      • year R (reception) primary or infant school applications
      • year 3 junior school applications
    • view information about schools in Devon on our school information pages – this includes admissions information for each school, including the number of places available, the school’s admission policy and how many places have been allocated in recent years
    • find out what different schools have to offer your child and, if possible, visit the schools you are interested in
    • know which school is designated for your child’s address
    • understand what equally ranked preferences mean – it enables you to apply for the schools you most want without affecting your chances of a place at other schools
    • be aware of the school transport policy – it is important that you understand who will be responsible for transport before applying to a school and before accepting a place

    You should apply to the local authority where your child lives. For example, if Devon County Council is your local authority, you should apply on this site, but residents of Plymouth, Torbay, Cornwall, Somerset and Dorset should apply to their local authority.

    Please note: if your child currently attends a pre school or nursery setting attached to a school, or you have previously registered interest with a particular school, you will still need to complete this application form.

    We will not assume that you want a place at a particular school – even if you have an older child who already attends or you live nearby.

    Parents of summer-born children – with birthdays between 1 April and 31 August – can read guidance about delayed admission to reception here.

    The Admissions Team can be contacted at admissions@devon.gov.uk.

  • Apply now

    The application system to apply for the new reception intake (primary or infant school) in September 2025 or year 3 (junior) in September 2025 is now closed.

    The closing date was 15 January 2025. You can apply after this date but applications will be considered late and may be at a disadvantage. Please see the ‘Late applications’ section for more information.

    You cannot apply online after the closing date, so please contact the Education helpline on 0345 155 1019 and ask for a paper copy of the form to be sent to you.

  • Late applications

    Applications close on 15 January each year. If you apply after this date, the application will be considered late unless you can demonstrate that you were unable to apply on time, for example, because of illness or a house move. For illness to be taken into account, it must have prevented an application being made.

    If the reason you give is accepted and you are able to apply by the date when applications are processed by us, your application will be considered to have been made on time.

    Please remember that:

    • you cannot apply online after the closing date. To apply after this time please contact us on 0345 155 1019
    • if your application is late, places at the schools you prefer may already have been filled – no places are held in reserve
    • if your application is late you may be responsible for transport to and from a school further away from your home
  • Offer day

    We will email your child’s offer of a school place on Wednesday 16 April 2025. Please make sure your email address is kept up to date.

    If you applied online, you can also log into your online account from 16 April to find out which school has been offered.

    We will offer your child one primary school place. If a place was available at more than one of your preferences, the offer will be for the school that can offer a place which was your highest preference.

    If none of your preferred schools could offer a place, we will make an offer at another school. This may be the school designated for your address if it has a vacancy remaining or the closest school to your child’s home with a vacancy.

    The ‘allocation breakdown’ – information outlining the number of places available for each school, how many places were offered and whether the school is over-subscribed is available:

    View our frequently asked questions here.

    What happens next

    If you are happy with the school place offered to your child, you do not need to do anything else other than confirm that you want the place to the school itself.

    If you are not happy with the offer, find out how to appeal for a school place.