Apply for a new reception primary school place.
If your child was born between 1 September 2019 and 31 August 2020 you need to apply for a new reception school place to your home local authority. You need to apply by 15 January 2024.
Online
Apply online from 12 September 2023 for September 2024 admissions.
You'll need to register for an account on our Parent Portal admissions system.
Before you apply:
- check your local authority area Go to https://www.gov.uk/find-local-council (opens new window)
- if you live in Bristol and pay your council tax to Bristol City Council apply to us for a Bristol school reception place
- if you live in Bristol and pay your council tax to Bristol City Council and you want to apply to a school in another local authority area you also need to apply to us
- if your child has an Education, Health and Care Plan don't apply to School Admissions, see Apply for a key stage transfer school place for a child with an Education, Health and Care (EHC) plan on our Local Offer site or email the Special Educational Needs Team at sen@bristol.gov.uk for how to apply
- check application timetable
- read information about Bristol Primary schools
- you must use your child's legal name on the application
- upload with your online application your preferred schools written response to your request to consider an application for a child working outside their chronological year group. This must be received before the 15 January 2024 closing date to enable you to make an online application.
For other year groups school place applications including applications for September 2023 admissions make an In year application
Applications from outside the UK
If you're applying for a school place outside the UK and have problems applying online then fill in and return the pdf primary application form (696 KB) .
You can:
- fill in and submit the form online using your computer.
- fill in and email the form as an attachment to school.admissions@bristol.gov.uk. to avoid postal delays
- or print and return the form by post
Other ways to apply
You can either:
- fill in the pdf primary application form (696 KB) online and email it to school.admissions@bristol.gov.uk. to avoid postal delays or postal losses.
- or print it and return the form by post
Application deadlines
Apply by 15 January 2024
Offers of school places for on time applications will be sent on 16 April 2024.
Applications after 15 January 2024 will be processed after the initial round of allocations is complete on 16 April 2024.
The final date and time for making limited changes to an existing application for the first round of allocations is midnight on 19 January 2024. See change your reception place allocation.
The second round of allocations will be in May 2024.
Supplementary information forms
You may need to complete a supplementary information form (SIF) as well as the Bristol City Council application form for some schools.
School preference
You can express a preference for up to three schools in your order of preference from one to three. All your preferences are considered equally against the schools admission criteria regardless of whether you have put them as preference one, two or three.
If your child qualifies for a place at more than one of your three preferred schools your highest ranked preference school will be offered to you and lower ranked preferences withdrawn.
Your school offer and acceptance
See reception primary place offer for how and when we'll offer your child a school place. You'll need to respond to this offer by 30 April 2024.