Dear Parent(s)/Guardian(s)

Transfer to Secondary Education 2022

Make an application

If you have a child currently in Year 6 you will need to apply for a place in a secondary school this autumn.

Applications open on Monday 27 September 2021. The closing date for applications is Monday 22 November 2021. Applications received after this date will be considered after all the on time applications have been assessed.

Many schools fill up in this first round of allocations so it greatly increases your chance of being allocated one of your preferences if you apply on time. We strongly recommend that you apply for 5 different schools and that you include the school that you live nearest to.

Whilst living in a catchment area can help your child’s chances of receiving an offer of a place at the school (if applied for), there is no guarantee this will be possible. You can check your catchment area Community Schools for your address at www.cardiff.gov.uk/onlinemaps.

We will allocate you the highest preference that we can. Some schools will be oversubscribed in which case we will use the published oversubscription criteria to allocate places up to the number of places available at that school. If you fall outside this number we will look at your next preference. Therefore it is important to express as many preferences as you can (up to the maximum of 5) as you may be able to secure a school in the first round that will not be available in subsequent rounds.

Be sure to answer all the questions in the application process fully. These answers (such as details of older siblings, or medical/social issues your child may have) can influence your eligibility for a school place. If you don’t tell us we don’t know.

Cardiff community schools do not operate a feeder system. Attendance at particular primary has no bearing on how likely we are to be able to offer a particular secondary school.

This may not be the case for our co-ordinated admissions partner schools (see below) please check their oversubscription criteria as they differ from the Council’s.  Whitchurch High (Foundation) School, Corpus Christi RC High School and St Teilo’s CW High School are part of our co-ordinated admissions scheme. If you apply for Corpus Christi RC High School or St Teilo’s CW High School you must also complete a supplementary form which is available from the school or their website, otherwise it will not be possible to accept preferences for those schools. Please note: The Bishop of Llandaff CW High School, Mary Immaculate RC High School or St Illtyd’s RC High School are not part of this scheme. If you would your child to attend any of these school will need to apply directly to the school.

You can make changes to your application up to the closing date, but if you do be sure to press ‘Submit’ on the final page when you are happy with your application. Applications left unsubmitted at the point the system closes cannot be accepted.

If your child is the subject of a statement of special educational needs or is undergoing a formal assessment you are still required to submit an application for your preferred school places. You will be notified of your child’s proposed school place by the Achievement and Inclusion Service as soon as possible.

If you would like support with your application, assistance is available at Council Hubs or via Severn Primary School. You can find the locations and opening hours of the hubs at www.cardiff.gov.uk/hubs.

What happens next?

You will receive the outcome of your application on Tuesday 1 March 2022. You will need to accept or reject an offer of a place by Tuesday 15th March 2022. If we have been unable to offer you a place at one of your preferred schools, you may submit a new application for one of the alternatives proposed by Tuesday 15 March 2022.

Should you not receive an offer for your highest preference school on March 1st, you will remain on a waiting list and will be contacted if there is a change of circumstances.

Any places that parents reject in the first round will be reallocated in subsequent rounds. If you are on a waiting list for a place, you application will be reconsidered if places become available.

You must tell us if you move house between receiving your offer and the beginning of term in September 2022. A change of address might affect your entitlement to your school place and / or your position on a waiting list, hence you should tell us as soon as possible so that we can discuss your options.

More information can be found in the ‘School admissions booklet 2022/23’ which is available at www.cardiff.gov.uk/schooladmissions

Yours sincerely

School Admissions Team.