Things to consider before moving to a new school

Moving to a new school is an important step for any child, if you are not moving address but would like to change your child’s school.

You should consider the following:

• How will your child cope with learning new rules and having to do things differently, or possibly having missed important work? Children who transfer schools after their exam subjects have been chosen in Year 9 are likely to find that they cannot do the same subjects, or that the exam board and courses are different.
• If your child has special educational needs and received support, the support will not transfer to the new school and there may be a delay in accessing new support.
• If your child has brothers or sisters at the same school, transferring one child may affect the others.
• Will it be difficult for you to have children attending different schools?
• How will you manage different start and finish times?
• If you are requesting places for more than one child, your preferred school may not be able to offer places for all your children. If you need advice on schools with places available, you can contact us. However, information given can only be a guide as availability of places depends on the number of applications for each school.

Only you can make the decision to move your child, your child's current school cannot ask you or influence you to move your child.

What happens after I apply?

If the school you request has places, your child will be offered a place at the school.

The school will notify the School Admissions and Fair Access Service of your child’s details and the outcome of the application.

If the school you request doesn’t have any places, your child will be placed on the waiting list for your preferred school and you will be offered a place at the nearest available school. You also have the right to appeal. You can appeal against the refusal of a place in current Reception class to current Year 13 using our In Year appeal form. See further information on the schools appeals process

If you want your child to change school for other reasons

We recommend that you talk to your child about moving to another school. If they say they’re being bullied or not getting on with other pupils, you should speak to your child’s Form Tutor or Head of Year first, to try and resolve the problem.

If you’ve done this and still have concerns, or are unhappy about the way the school is dealing with your complaint, you should make an appointment to speak to the head teacher. You may also write to the Chair of the school’s Governing Body.

Page last updated: 22 September 2023