Infant to junior transfer

When you need to apply for your child to transfer from infant to junior school and how to apply.

You need to apply for a transfer from an infant school to a junior if the junior school isn’t paired with the infant school your child currently attends.

You don’t need to apply for a junior school if your child attends these schools unless you want your child to attend a different junior school:

• Broomhill
• Chester Park
• Elmlea
• Henleaze
• Sefton Park
• Summerhill
• Wicklea Academy

Your child will automatically transfer to the above school’s paired junior school.

Apply for a transfer

If your child's infant school is not paired with the junior school or you want to apply to a different junior school than the paired school you need to apply for an infant to junior transfer.

Read the infant to junior transfer section on page 15 in the guide for parents and carers 2018/19 (pdf, 26.9MB) (opens new window)

How to apply

Fill in the infant to junior transfer application form (pdf, 40k) (opens new window) and return it to the local authority where you live.

You must return your application by midnight on 15 January 2018.

Junior schools and available places

Places available at a junior school are determined by the school's Admission Number.  This is the minimum number of children who have to be offered places at each school if there are enough applications.

Junior school allocation of places

For applications submitted by 15 January 2018 each junior school:

• will first allocate places to any Year 2 children transferring from their paired infant school.
• if they  have extra places left over then they will apply the  oversubscription criteria to all applications for children who currently go to other infant or primary schools.

If there are no places available at the junior school you‘ll be told of the appeals procedure by the admission authority for the school.

Oversubscription criteria

Initial allocations using the overscription criteria will involve only applications submitted by 15 January 2018.

If the oversubscription criteria is applied places are allocated in the following order:

• children in care or children who were  in care but immediately  became subject to an adoption order, child arrangement order or special guardianship order.
• children in public care are children who are in the care of a local authority or provided with accommodation by that authority under section 22 of the Children Act 1989.
•  paired infant and junior schools. Children who have attended the paired infant school for the full three years of infant education.
• siblings. Where there are siblings in attendance at the preferred school or paired infant school and who will still be on roll in September 2018.
• geographical considerations. Children living closest to the school as measured in a direct line from the home address to the school

Applications to Elmlea Junior school follow different admission criteria. Refer to page 43 of the guide for parents and carers (pdf, 26.9MB) (opens new window) . (opens new windo

Special Educational Needs (SEN) pupils and the transfer admissions criteria

If a school is named in a child’s Statement of Special Educational Needs or Education Heath Care Plan they'll be given a place before the above criteria are applied.

Transfer to a primary school

If you want your child to attend a primary school in Bristol from Year 3, use our in year application process.  Applications should be made in mid May 2018.  Applications for schools outside Bristol should be made to the local authority where the school is based.