Normal admission round
The normal admissions round is the term used for school transition points:
- starting primary school in reception class
- moving your child from year 2 from a linked infant school to year 3 at the linked junior school
- transferring to a secondary school from a primary school
- starting your child at University Technical College (for children aged 14 to 19 years) in year 10 from their current secondary school
Parents / carers express a minimum of 3 preferences for a place at a school, in their preferred rank order on the common application form (CAF) via the local authority they live in.
This differs between local authorities. For example, in Birmingham, parents / carers can express up to 3 preferences for a primary school and up to 6 preferences for a secondary school.
Linked nurseries, infant and junior schools
You must also apply for a place:
- in reception class, even if your child attends the linked nursery.
For more information, see applying for reception class or primary school - In year 3, if your child is in year 2 at an infant school that has a linked junior school
When to apply
Parents can apply for a place in the autumn of the year before their child turns 4 years. You must apply for a place as soon as possible:
- attendance at a nursery class does not give a child automatic priority for a place
- do not wait until your child is aged 5 years or your preferred school may already be full
- your local authority (where you pay your Council Tax) sets the date from when you can start applying for primary school places. In Birmingham this is between 1 October and 15 January.
Deferred entry
Many children start reception when they are aged 4 years.
If you want to request a deferred entry:
Find out more about deferred entry and born in summer
How to apply
To apply for a school place in Birmingham, see our school admissions section.
We have information on applying for:
- reception places at primary schools
- transfer from infant to junior school
- secondary schools (Year 7)
- Grammar schools
If you are applying online for the first time, you will need to register for online school admissions
Page last updated: 16 February 2026
