Apply for a secondary place

Applications for your child to start in year 7 at secondary school in September 2023 opened on 1 September 2022 and close on 31 October 2022.

Applications for your child to start in year 10 at a studio school or university technical college (UTC) or at a middle or high school elsewhere in the country and for transfer into a new sixth form at year 12 also open between these dates.

The date that all allocations of school places are announced in England is known as ‘offer day’. For September 2023 secondary school starters this will be on 1 March 2023. More information can be found in the ‘Offer day’ tab.

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 7 secondary school applications
- year 10 studio school or university technical college applications
- middle or high school applications elsewhere in the country
- transfer to a sixth form at a new school

read the guidance on using the citizens portal
view information about schools on our school information pages
find out what different schools have to offer your child (please be aware that given the current coronavirus situation, open events at schools that have previously been held in September/October may be subject to change – please check individual school websites for up-to-date information)
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
view frequently asked questions about what happened in previous admissions rounds

You can apply for any state-funded school in Devon.

You cannot apply for a school outside of Devon or a private school. If you would like a place at any school other than a Devon state-funded school, you must contact the school or relevant local authority directly.

You must apply to the local authority where your child lives. Residents of Plymouth, Torbay, Cornwall, Somerset and Dorset should apply to their local authority.

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.

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

Apply now

The application system to apply for year 7 in September 2023 is now closed. The closing date is 31 October each year. You can apply after this date but applications made after this date will be considered late and may be at a disadvantage. Please see the ‘Late applications’ tab for more information.

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

Other application forms available from our Customer Service Centre are:

Middle or high school – there are no middle or high schools in Devon, but you can apply for them elsewhere if your child lives in Devon.
Key stage 4 admissions – apply for your child to start in year 10 at a studio school or UTC.
Sixth form – if your child wishes to transfer to a new school for year 12, you can use the application form provided by the Local Authority but are encouraged to contact the school itself for advice.

Late applications

Applications close on 31 October 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.

Remember:

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 1 March 2023. Please make sure your email address is kept up to date.

If you applied online you can also log into your online account from 1 March to find out which school has been offered.

We will offer your child one secondary 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.

View our frequently asked questions here. You can also view an allocation breakdown for each secondary school here, which details how the oversubscription criteria has been applied to each school and also where the cut off point for admission came.

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 you want the place to the school itself.

If you are not happy with the offer, find out how to appeal.