A guide for parents and carers about transferring to secondary school
Transferring to secondary school is an important and exciting time in a child’s life. It can be a time when both children and their parents/carers need support, advice, and information about the school admissions process.
The information in the following pages will help you make an application for a secondary school place and understand how the process works. This guide provides profiles of all the secondary schools in Brighton & Hove, as well as information about admission arrangements.
The easiest way to make your application is through the Brighton & Hove City Council website. It automatically acknowledges receipt of your application. You will also receive immediate notification of the decision on your application by e-mail on National Offer Day – 1 March 2025.
Parents/carers cannot actually choose a school. They have the right to express preferences for up to 3 schools.
In instances where there are more applications for a school than there are places available, we use the admission priorities described in sections 4 and 5 of our admissions information to decide who gets offered places.
Your first, second and third school preferences will be considered together alongside everyone else’s preferences. Your child will be offered a place at the highest-ranked preference available.
If we cannot offer you a place at any of your preferred schools, we'll offer a place at the nearest school with places available.
We would generally advise you to include your catchment area school or schools in your 3 preferences. This is because it gives you the best chance of being offered a school that’s near to where you live.
Please note that we cannot guarantee that we will be able to offer your child a place at a school or schools within your local catchment area.
We therefore strongly advise you to also look carefully at schools outside your catchment area and include one or two of them in your preferences as well.
This means that if we can’t offer you a school in your catchment area, you have the best chance of getting one of your preferred alternatives.
We believe all children should have the opportunity, encouragement, and guidance to thrive and fulfil their true potential. The quality and diversity of our schools is something we're very proud of.
In addition to their educational offer, the city’s schools offer a wide range of activities. These include the chance to participate in musical and sporting activities, as well as opportunities to make new friends.
Whichever school you decide to apply for, you should apply for a school place through the Brighton & Hove City Council website.
If you have more questions when you have read the information in this guidance, our school admissions team can help.
To contact the school admissions team:
The closing date for applications is 31 October 2024.
We very much look forward to welcoming your child to one of the city’s secondary schools in September 2025.
Deb Austin (Director of Families, Children & Learning) and Cllr Emma Daniels (Cabinet Member for Children, Families and Youth Services)
The closing date for applications is 31 October 2024.
If you want more information about the school admissions process, or if you want to comment about this guide or the admission arrangements, write to: School Admissions Team Brighton & Hove City Council, Hove Town Hall, Norton Road, Hove, BN3 3BQ.
If you're having difficulty accessing this information and would like a hard copy of this guidance, or need it in a different format:
The admissions team will be available on the phone between 9:30am to 1:30pm, Monday to Friday.
September 2024 - The application process for transfer to year 7 begins. Opportunity for parents/carers to visit individual schools (details on the school’s websites). Prospectuses are available from schools.
31 October 2024 - Closing date for completed online applications or paper forms to be received by the school admissions team. We strongly recommend that you do not delay your application until the last minute in case of technical problems. If you choose to apply on a paper form it's your responsibility to ensure that the form arrives at its destination on time.
22 January 2025 - Applications received late with good reason up to this date will be considered on time. You must provide independent supporting evidence of a good reason or your application will be treated as late.
January to February 2025 - Applications analysed.
3 March 2025 - National Offer Day - Parents/carers who applied online or provided an email address on their application form will be notified by email of the outcome of their application. Letters will be sent by first-class post on this day to notify other parents/carers of the outcome of their application. No decisions will be given by telephone.
March 2025 - Waiting lists established.
17 March 2025 - Closing date for parents/carers to either accept or refuse the school place offered. If the parent does not reply, the offer may be withdrawn.
28 March 2025 – Deadline for the submission of appeals.
April 2025 onwards - Independent appeal panels meet to consider appeals from parents/carers who are unhappy with their school allocation.
September 2025 - Children start their new school.
Ensure that you are entirely happy with your school preferences before making an application. Visit the school’s website or call the school for details about opportunities to visit.
You can get this information from the school. It will give you an idea of the school’s:
This is called the published admission number or PAN. This number is set to take into account the number of pupils each school site can accommodate and how many places are needed in the local area.
The admission number for each school is listed against each school’s entry below.
Read the admissions criteria for each school and look to see which criteria apply to your child. The admissions criteria for Brighton & Hove schools are listed in sections 4 and 5.
Compare the admissions criteria to the school allocation information from previous years.
Be aware that the council has introduced a new admission criterion that gives priority to children eligible for free school meals from September 2025.
Read our How do you travel to school? guide.
Find out who can get free home to school transport. This can be different for families on a low income where pupils are eligible for free school meals.
View school reports on the Ofsted website.
There are 2 ways to make your application for a school place if you're a Brighton & Hove resident and your child is due to start secondary school in September 2025.
You can apply:
The closing date is 31 October 2024.
Any applications received after this will be processed after the majority of places have been allocated unless there's a good reason for it being late such as a house move.
A late application means you are much less likely to get what you want.
Notifications of the places offered will be made on 3 March 2025 (unless your application is late).
You could disadvantage yourself if you don’t use your opportunity to express a preference for 3 schools. Each preference is considered in its own right, so give yourself 3 separate chances.
Naming only one school does not improve the chance of being offered a place there.
We only look at your order of preference (first, second or third) if it is possible to offer you a place at more than one of your selected schools. The order of preferences is then only used to allocate a place at your most preferred school.
Think about the school’s admission arrangements as this is how places will be allocated if the school is oversubscribed and has more applications than places.
Check carefully which catchment area you live in. Don’t assume you will be allocated a place at your catchment area school even if you state it as one of your preferences.
Visit as many schools as possible including those outside your immediate area.
If you're applying for a church voluntary aided school, academy or free school, they may require additional information or completion of a supplementary information form (SIF). This enables governors to rank applications correctly against the school’s admissions criteria. Remember to send the SIF and any other required documents to the school by the closing date.
If you're applying to a community school but are providing supporting documents, those documents should be submitted with your application or sent to the school admissions team (see section 4).
If your child is eligible for free school meals, make sure you tell us this on your application so that your child will be given higher priority.
If you're applying for your child to have a decelerated entry to school, such as to start later than other children in their chronological age group, you should initially apply for a school place in accordance with the deadlines that apply for your child’s actual age.
If you're applying for your child to have an accelerated entry to school, such as applying to start earlier than other children in their chronological age group, you must initially apply for a school place at the same time that other families are applying for the cohort you're requesting.
You should provide with your application the reasons why your child should be educated out of year group and any evidence to support your case.
Evidence could include:
If your child is currently or has been previously being educated out of year group there's an agreement across all secondary school admission authorities in the city that it's usually in the child's best interest to remain with their existing cohort.
The admission authority will consider each case on its merits taking into account your child’s best interests and either agree or refuse the request on that basis.
Where Brighton & Hove City Council is the admission authority, the views of the headteacher of each preferred school will be sought before a decision is taken.
If there's a good reason why the request could not be made by the closing date for applications, late requests will be considered up until 22 January 2025. Requests made after this date will not be considered until after 3 March 2025, National Offer Day.
Parents/carers will be made aware of the outcome of the request for admission out of year group before National Offer Day and the reasons for the decision will be shared with you.
This is a list of all secondary schools in the city (excluding private schools)
Details of opportunities to visit the schools are available on the school’s website or you can phone the school for details of arrangements.
We have introduced a new admissions criteria for children who are eligible for free school meals. The information below shows how places were offered last year using the previous admission criteria.
Nevill Avenue, Hove, East Sussex, BN3 7NB.
Go to Blatchington Mill School's website.
Phone: 01273 736 244.
Headteacher: Ms K Claydon.
| Number on roll (May 2024) | Number of preferences 2024 to 2025 | How many places offered under each criteria for Sept 2024 | Published admission number |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1,633 |
|
SEN: 2 Priority 1: 3 Priority 2: 0 Priority 3: 92 Priority 4: 233 Priority 5: 0 |
330 |
This school does not have a Sixth form.
Lewes Road, Brighton, BN1 9PW.
Go to Brighton Aldridge Community Academy's website.
Phone: 01273 691 191.
Headteacher: Mr J Davies.
| Number on roll (May 2024) | Number of preferences 2024 to 2025 | How many places offered under each criteria for Sept 2024 | Published admission number |
|---|---|---|---|
| 715 (excluding Sixth Form) |
|
All preferences allocated unless offered a higher preference. | 180 |
This Academy has a sixth form. Find out how to apply to Brighton Aldridge Community Academy's sixth form.
The Upper Drive, Hove, East Sussex, BN3 6ND.
Go to Cardinal Newman Catholic School's website.
Phone: 01273 558 551.
Headteacher: Ms C Jarman.
| Number on roll (May 2024) | Number of preferences 2024 to 2025 | How many places offered under each criteria for Sept 2024 | Published admission number |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1,808 (excluding Sixth Form) |
|
Information is available from the school governors. | 360 |
This School has a sixth form. Find out how to apply to Newman College.
Loder Road, Brighton, BN1 6PZ.
Go to Dorothy Stringer School's website.
Phone: 01273 852 222.
Headteacher: Mr Hillier.
| Number on roll (May 2024) | Number of preferences 2024 to 2025 | How many places offered under each criteria for Sept 2024 | Published admission number |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1,655 |
|
SEN: 5 Priority 1: 0 Priority 2: 2 Priority 3: 79 Priority 4: 206 Priority 5: 38 |
330 |
This school does not have a Sixth Form.
Hove Park School Valley Campus (years 7 to 8).
Hangleton Way, Hove, BN3 8AA.
Hove Park School Nevill Campus (years 9 to 11).
Nevill Road, Hove, BN3 7BN.
Go to Hove Park School's website.
Phone:
Headteacher: Mr J Roberts.
| Number on roll (May 2024) | Number of preferences 2024 to 2025 | How many places offered under each criteria for Sept 2024 | Published admission number |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1,137 (excluding Sixth Form) |
|
All preferences allocated unless offered a higher preference. | 180 |
This school does not have a Sixth Form.
Hangleton Way, Hove, BN3 8BN.
Phone: 01273 840 004.
Headteacher: Ms S Price.
| Number on roll (May 2024) | Number of preferences 2024 to 2025 | How many places offered under each criteria for Sept 2024 | Published admission number |
|---|---|---|---|
| 719 |
|
Information is available from the school governors. | 165 |
This school has a Sixth Form. Find out how to apply to King's School Sixth Form.
Falmer Road, Rottingdean, Brighton, East Sussex, BN2 7FR.
Go to Longhill High School's website.
Phone: 01273 304 086.
Headteacher: Ms R Otulakowsk.
| Number on roll (May 2024) | Number of preferences 2024 to 2025 | How many places offered under each criteria for Sept 2024 | Published admission number |
|---|---|---|---|
| 894 |
|
All preferences allocated unless offered a higher preference. | 270 |
This school does not have a Sixth Form.
Ladies Mile Road, Brighton, East Sussex, BN1 8PB.
Go to Patcham High School's website.
Phone: 01273 503 908.
Headteacher: Mr J Mckee.
| Number on roll (May 2024) | Number of preferences 2024 to 2025 | How many places offered under each criteria for Sept 2024 | Published admission number |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1,102 |
|
SEN: 6 Priority 1: 2 Priority 2: 3 Priority 3: 53 Priority 4: 161 Priority 5: 0 |
225 |
This school does not have a Sixth Form.
Chalky Road, Portslade, Brighton, BN41 2WS.
Go to Portslade Aldridge Community Academy's website.
Phone: 01273 416 300.
Headteacher: Mr M Poston.
| Number on roll (May 2024) | Number of preferences 2024 to 2025 | How many places offered under each criteria for Sept 2024 | Published admission number |
|---|---|---|---|
| 947 |
|
All preferences allocated unless offered a higher preference. | 220 |
This school does not have a Sixth Form.
Balfour Road, Brighton, BN1 6NP.
Go to Varndean School's website.
Phone: 01273 561 281.
Headteacher: Mrs S Baker.
| Number on roll (May 2024) | Number of preferences 2024 to 2025 | How many places offered under each criteria for Sept 2024 | Published admission number |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1,463 |
|
SEN: 18 Priority 1: 9 Priority 2: 2 Priority 3: 100 Priority 4: 171 Priority 5: 0 |
300 |
This school does not have a Sixth Form.
To apply, always use our online form or download an application form provided by Brighton & Hove City Council if you're a resident of Brighton & Hove.
If you live anywhere else, you must use the application form or the online admissions system provided by your local council, even if you would like your child to attend a school in Brighton & Hove.
The closing date for applications is midnight on 31 October 2024 and online applications can be submitted up until this date.
The last application submitted, or form received by the closing date will be taken as your final selection of preferences.
You should decide which schools you would prefer your child to attend and then complete the online application or the paper form listing up to 3 different preferences, ion order of your preference (most preferred school first).
You do not have to express 3 preferences. However, if you only give one preference, and are not offered a place at that school, you will be offered a place at the nearest school with a place remaining after everyone else’s 3 preferences have been looked at.
This may mean that by the time we allocate a place for your child, your local schools may be full, and your child may have to travel some distance to get to school.
Each of your preferences will be considered equally and separately. This means some places may be allocated to second and third-preference applicants, while first preferences are refused because they have a lower priority or were unsuccessful in the random allocation tie-break.
Listing second and third preferences will not affect your chance of being offered your first preference.
We will offer you the highest ranked school we can. This is, your first preference will only be considered above your second or third preference if we can offer you more than one school place.
Make sure you like your first preference more than your second preference and your second preference more than your third.
The following examples are provided to show what may happen.
These are only made-up examples. They are in no way a guide to oversubscription levels. Do not assume that if your situation is the same as one of these examples, your application will have the same outcome.
Tariq lives in the catchment area for Brighton Aldridge Community Academy (BACA) and is eligible for free school meals. His parents/carers want him to go to Varndean or Dorothy Stringer, so they express the following preferences:
There are more pupils applying for both Varndean and Dorothy Stringer School under the free school meals criteria than available spaces for these pupils, so random allocation is used to decide who is offered places under this priority. Tariq is entered into the random allocation process for Varndean but is unsuccessful for a place at this school. Tariq is also entered into the random allocation process for Dorothy Stringer School and is randomly selected for one of the Free School Meals places at this school. BACA has enough spaces for all pupils wanting to go to this school. Tariq is allocated a place at Dorothy Stringer School as this is a higher ranked preference than BACA.
Geraint lives in the catchment area for Longhill. His parents/carers want him to attend Cardinal Newman Catholic School because he currently attends a church school, but he is not a Catholic.
They list the following preferences:
Geraint’s application is shared with East Sussex County Council who consider Geraint for a place at Peacehaven, but they are not able to offer him a place according to their admissions criteria.
The governors of Cardinal Newman Catholic School are notified that Geraint’s parents/carers have listed their school as a preference. They are able to offer Geraint a place even though he is not Catholic.
He is also entered into the random allocation process for Longhill as this school is oversubscribed. As he lives within the catchment area it would be possible to offer a place there. Geraint is allocated a place at Cardinal Newman Catholic School as this is the higher preference.
Samantha lives in the catchment area for Dorothy Stringer and Varndean. However, her parents/carers would like her to attend Blatchington Mill.
They list the following preferences:
It is not possible to offer Samantha a place at Blatchington Mill because it is filled up with children who live within the catchment area. Samantha’s name is entered in the random allocation process for both Dorothy Stringer and Varndean because both of these schools are oversubscribed with children within the catchment area. Samantha is successful in the random allocation for both Dorothy Stringer and Varndean.
Brighton & Hove City Council offers her a place at Dorothy Stringer because it was higher on her list than Varndean.
Jacqui lives in the catchment area for Hove Park and Blatchington Mill. Her parents would like her to go to Blatchington Mill and they feel that she is more likely to get in if they list this as their only preference. They list the following preferences:
Jacqui is entered into the random allocation process for Blatchington Mill. She only has one entry even though her parents/carers have listed the school 3 times. The random process does not offer her a place at Blatchington Mill.
As her parents/carers have not applied for a place at Hove Park, she cannot be offered a place at this school as they all have to be offered to children whose parents/carers did apply for places there.
This means that Jacqui has to be offered a place at Portslade Aldridge Community Academy, which is the nearest school with vacancies after everyone’s preferences have been considered.
Bradley lives in the catchment area for Dorothy Stringer and Varndean. His parents/carers want him to go to Varndean, but they know that last year there were not enough places at Dorothy Stringer and Varndean for all the pupils living in the catchment area. So, they also express a third preference for Brighton Aldridge Community Academy (BACA):
Bradley is entered into the random allocation process for Dorothy Stringer and Varndean but is unsuccessful for both schools. BACA has enough spaces for all pupils wanting to go to this school, so Bradley is allocated a place there.
Brighton & Hove City Council coordinates applications for all schools. Brief definitions of the types of schools in Brighton & Hove are given below along with information about how the admission arrangements are set and applied for each school.
Brighton & Hove City Council sets and applies the admission arrangements for the following community schools.
The admission arrangements are in section 4.
A free school is a state school that is funded directly by the Department for Education (DfE). Like academies, free schools are independent from local authority control.
The governors of the free school set their own admission arrangements. These admission arrangements are set out in section 5.
Academies are publicly funded independently run schools.
The governors of the school set and apply the admission arrangements which can be found in section 5.
Voluntary-aided schools are schools with a religious character. They are their own admission authority. Their admission arrangements are likely to reflect the school’s religious character.
The admission arrangements are in section 5.
Brighton & Hove City Council coordinates admission arrangements with BACA, PACA, Cardinal Newman and King’s by using the same application process for all secondary schools.
If you live in Brighton & Hove, you should apply for these schools using the Brighton & Hove online admissions facility or the Brighton & Hove paper application form.
Cardinal Newman and King’s also have supplementary information forms, which you will need to complete when applying for a place. These forms should be returned directly to the school by the closing date.
The governors of BACA, PACA, Cardinal Newman and King’s are still responsible for offering places at their schools, see section 5 for details of how this is done. We will let parents/carers know the school’s decisions.
If your child is not offered a place at BACA, PACA, Cardinal Newman or King’s, we'll offer an alternative place, where possible using your other listed preferences.
This joint working means that all parents/carers will receive one offer of a school place because information about applications is shared.
We share admissions information with neighbouring local authorities (LA). If you live in the city, any applications for schools in the area of another LA should be made using the Brighton & Hove online system or application form. We will then contact that LA on your behalf.
You can apply to different own admission authorities, community schools and schools in other LAs, but you must do this through Brighton & Hove City Council if you live in Brighton & Hove.
We'll let you know the decision along with all the other parents/carers who have applied for Brighton & Hove schools.
If you apply to an ‘out-of-city’ school that has been oversubscribed, the further away you live the less likely you are to obtain a place. Check this with the relevant admission authority before applying.
If you are a resident of the city and do not apply online to Brighton & Hove or return a Brighton & Hove City Council application form you will not be given a place at a city school. If you are not sure whether you live within the boundary of Brighton & Hove City Council, contact the school admissions team to check.
The addresses of the local authorities next to Brighton & Hove are:
Phone: 03330 142 903.
Phone: 03003 309 472.
A child or young person has SEND if they have a learning difficulty or disability which calls for special educational provision to be made for them.
In most cases, support for special educational needs can be met in mainstream schools. Brighton & Hove City Council is committed to this approach wherever it is practical. Many children have difficulties at some stage in their school career, and often the problem is temporary and can be dealt with by the school.
If you think your child may have special educational needs, please speak with your child’s current school/nursery and the schools you are considering.
Find out about how we support children with special needs or disabilities with our SEND Local Offer.
To contact the special educational needs team:
Apply online or return a paper application form to your child’s current school by midnight on 31 October 2024.
If your child is not currently attending a Brighton & Hove school, you should apply online or return your form to the school admissions team by the same deadline.
If you live within the area of another Local Authority but wish to apply for a Brighton & Hove school, make sure that you apply through your home local authority for this school by the same deadline.
It's your responsibility to make sure that your application arrives on time. Proof of posting is not proof of delivery.
In all cases, if you return the form to the school, you should hand it to a member of staff. If you need a receipt, you should ask for one at the time.
If paper forms are returned by post to schools or the admissions team and received after the closing date they will be regarded as late applications.
We strongly recommend that applications be completed online, returned to schools, or delivered by hand to Hove Town Hall wherever possible.
If your online application or paper preference form is returned after the closing date without good reason, it will be considered after the on-time preferences have been dealt with, and places allocated to them.
This means there is a much greater chance that you will not get a place at your preferred school. It will also mean our response to you is delayed.
If you have a good reason for your application being late, for example, if you have just moved to Brighton & Hove, your application will be considered if it's received by 22 January.
You must supply independent supporting evidence of the reason why it's late such as a solicitor’s letter confirming the exchange of contracts or a tenancy agreement signed by both parties. This evidence must also be received by 22 January.
If we agree that your application is late with good reason, it will be treated as if it were submitted on time. If we do not agree, it will be treated as a late application.
If we receive no independent supporting evidence with the application, we will assume that you do not have a good reason and your application will be treated as late.
If you're moving within Brighton & Hove, you must still make your application by the deadline and then provide your revised application and proof of your new address by 22 January.
Not knowing about the closing date, forgetting to hand the form in or leaving it in the wrong place are not good reasons for an application being late.
Even if your child has a sibling at the school you need to complete an application in the usual way.
Other admission authorities may not treat these applications as on time, check with the school or council in question.
Late applications received for oversubscribed schools will be added to the reallocation pool for that school as soon as possible after the initial school allocations have been made. In the meantime, children will be allocated to schools where places are available.
Late applications and reallocation pool places will start to be processed from mid-April onwards.
Applications submitted after the closing date listing revised preferences will only be considered from mid-June onwards unless there has been a house move into a different catchment area. This is to make sure that parents and carers who do this do not gain an unfair advantage over others by having the opportunity to list more than 3 preferences.
When repeat applications are considered, they will be taken as replacing the first application and the first set of preferences will be withdrawn.
Places are allocated according to the admission criteria (either in section 4 or 5). On-time preferences are processed first. Late applications with good reason received by 22 January will be treated in the same way.
Late applications without a good reason will be dealt with after on-time preferences have been processed.
If we receive more than one application for the same child before the closing date, we'll use the one that was submitted most recently. If they appear to have been submitted by different people, we will check which one is correct before deciding which one to use.
All preferences will be considered equally regardless of whether you have listed them as first, second or third. If we can offer you a place at more than one of your preferred schools, we'll offer a place at the one that is highest in your list of preferences.
Sometimes we will not be able to offer a place at any of your preferred schools due to the schools' capacities and admission criteria. If this happens, we'll offer a place at the nearest school to your home that has a place available.
Priority for on-time applications will cease after the initial allocation of school places has been made, and late applications for schools that are full will be added to the reallocation pools.
If you're unhappy with your allocated school or with the preferences you listed on your original application, you do have the option to submit a revised application listing different preferences.
Revised applications will only be considered from mid-June onwards unless there has been a house move into a different catchment area. This is to ensure that parents/carers who change their minds are not given an unfair advantage by being allowed to list more than 3 preferences.
People have rights about automated decision-making under the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). The use of a random allocation tiebreak and computer allocation could be considered to be an example of automated decision-making as school allocation decisions are made using a computer algorithm.
Below is an explanation of how this process works.
Applications are submitted online, or paper forms are received and imported into the admissions computer system. While being imported the computer identifies whether the pupil’s address falls within the catchment area for any of the 3 preference schools. Admission officers then manually assess the applications and set the correct admission priority for each pupil based on Brighton & Hove City Council's admission arrangements (section 4).
For schools that have their own admission arrangements (section 5), the school governors list the pupils according to that school’s admission arrangements. This is replicated on our admissions computer system.
Where the random allocation tiebreak is used, every preference for a school is assigned a unique random number by the computer between +/- 10 billion.
The computer lists all of the pupils for each school in priority order. Where pupils have equal priority according to the criteria, it uses a random number (smallest to largest) to order the list of pupils.
The final part of the automated allocation process involves pupils who couldn’t be offered any of their school preferences. For these pupils, the computer calculates the distance from each address to all of the schools that still have available space. The computer then allocates the nearest pupils to each of these schools until all pupils have been given a school place.
Following this automated process; admission officers perform a number of checks on a random sample of pupils to ensure that school places have been allocated correctly.
Please read the following information carefully. It will help you to decide whether your child has a good chance of being offered a place at your preferred school.
Please be aware that we cannot guarantee your child a place at one of your preferred schools or at a catchment area school within the catchment area where you live.
Where there are more applications received for a community school, than there are places available we will use the following 7 admission criteria to decide who will be given a place.
Children with education, health and care plans (EHCPs) will be entitled to a place at the school named in the EHCP. If the child for whom you are responsible has an EHCP, please ensure that you indicate on your application that this is the case.
We do not take into account your child’s current school place, your childminding arrangements or workplace address.
All allocations are based on the following 7 priorities only:
Previously looked after children are such children who were adopted (or subject to child arrangements orders or special guardianship orders) immediately following having been looked after and those children who appear (to Brighton & Hove City Council) to have been in state care outside of England and ceased to be in state care as a result of being adopted.
A child is regarded as having been in state care outside of England if they were in the care of or were accommodated by a public authority, a religious organisation, or any other provider of care whose sole or main purpose is to benefit society.
You will need to supply proof of your child’s status. This could be a copy of the original adoption certificate or order. A letter from the local authority, agency or department that last looked after the child confirming that they were looked after immediately prior to the adoption or order being made.
If you are not sure what to provide, contact the school admissions team.
This priority applies to pupils with a specific need that can only be met by one school rather than any other.
If there are medical reasons or other diagnosed conditions that make it essential for your child to attend a particular school, you must provide supporting information from a doctor or other professional together with any other supporting information when you make your application.
This must make a compelling case as to why your child’s needs can only be met at the preferred school.
A medical condition or diagnosis in itself will not automatically result in priority being given. If you want a place at a specific school for other exceptional reasons, you must provide independent evidence from a professional who is supporting your family.
This should also demonstrate that it is essential for your child to attend the preferred school and no other.
For this reason, it is rare for pupils to be considered against this priority. It is not essential for the supporting information to name the school in question, but the evidence should explain exactly what your child’s needs are and what specialist support and/or facilities your child requires.
Advice may be sought from the community consultant paediatrician or other relevant professionals where necessary to determine whether or not the evidence you have provided is sufficiently compelling to qualify under this category.
The supporting evidence you provide needs to set out the particular reasons why the school in question is the most suitable, and the difficulties that would be caused if your child had to attend another school. It is not essential for the professionals supporting your family to have in-depth knowledge of your preferred school, but the evidence should explain exactly what your child needs and what specialist support and/or facilities your child requires.
It's vital that you supply any supporting evidence for compelling medical or other exceptional reasons for admission by the closing date. It's up to you to provide this evidence.
The school admissions team will not seek information about your child or telephone people on your behalf. The decision will be based solely on the information you send in.
Online applicants can upload supporting documents through the online admissions system. Alternatively email documents to the school admissions team at schooladmissions@brighton-hove.gov.uk giving your child’s full name and date of birth. You can also attach supporting documents to your paper application.
If we do not receive this information by the closing date 31 October, we will not be able to consider your child under this priority.
If there's been a change of circumstances (such as a new diagnosis) that has occurred since the closing date, information will be considered if it's received by 22 January.
If the evidence you supply is not considered compelling enough to be included in this priority, your application will be considered under criteria 3, 4, 5, 6 or 7 as appropriate.
All correspondence will be treated as private and confidential.
None of the maintained schools in Brighton & Hove select children on ability. A child’s aptitude or ability in a particular subject will not be considered an exceptional reason for admission.
This will apply where a child living in the same household will be attending the school when your child is due to start, provided your home is in the catchment area for the school in question.
A sibling link is only taken into account if children live at the same main address and the sibling has already been allocated a place at the school by 22 January.
Twins or multiple births do not qualify for the sibling link unless one child has already been offered a place.
Where a sibling attends a nursery class or a sixth form on the same school site, it will not be counted as a link for admissions purposes.
The sibling link does not apply to children who do not live in the catchment area. If this applies to your child, they will be placed in priority 7.
You may be asked to supply proof that your child has a sibling at the same address who attends the school.
If you're in any doubt as to whether your child qualifies for the sibling link contact the school admissions team.
This will give priority to children who are eligible for Free School Meals on the closing date for applications or on the date the application is submitted if it is late.
Details about catchment areas are given below.
To be considered to meet this priority you must indicate your child is eligible for Free School Meals on your application. This will then be checked against existing records.
Here are some frequently asked questions about the free school meals priority.
This will give priority to children who are eligible for Free School Meals on the closing date for applications or on the date the application is submitted if it is late.
To meet this priority, you must show your child is eligible for Free School Meals on your Brighton & Hove application. If you live outside Brighton & Hove, you must let us know that your child is eligible for Free School Meals. This should be sent in writing or email to Brighton & Hove’s Admissions team by the closing date 31 October.
Your child’s eligibility will then be checked against existing records.
The city average will be taken as the average percentage of children eligible for free school meals in the year 6 cohort. This is taken from the school census in October 2024. The number of places that can be available at each school under Priority 5 will be calculated by applying the city average to the schools PAN, minus the number of pupils considered under priority 4.
Below is an example using made up numbers to demonstrate how this is calculated:
If the city average of pupils eligible for free school meals is 25% and 30 pupils have been offered places under Priority 4. A school with a PAN of 300 would have up to 45 places available for this priority.
25% of 300 = 75 places available for FSM pupils.
30 pupils have been offered under priority 4 so 75-30 = 45 places available for pupils that meet priority 5.
Here are some frequently asked questions about the free school meals priority.
This will apply if your child’s home address is within the catchment area for the school in question. You will only be regarded as living in a catchment area if your main residence is in the area.
Ownership of a property in the catchment area is not sufficient. To qualify under this priority, the address at which your child is normally resident must be within the catchment area.
Use our interactive map to find details of catchment areas.
Download a PDF map to find a full list of postcodes.
If you're in any doubt as to the catchment area in which you live contact the school admissions team.
This applies if your child does not meet any of the criteria listed above.
Pupils living outside a schools catchment area and eligible for free school meals who are not offered a place under priority 5 will also be included in this criteria.
If a school is oversubscribed with children in any of the above priorities, we'll use an electronic random allocation system to decide which of the children within that priority should be offered the available places.
Where the random allocation tiebreak is used, every preference for a school is assigned a unique random number by the computer between +/- 10 billion. The computer will then list all of the pupils within each criteria using this random number (smallest to largest).
These admission arrangements do not apply to BACA, PACA, Cardinal Newman Catholic School or King’s School, which have their own admission arrangements. These are listed in section 5. Neither do they apply to schools in other local authority areas.
The National School Admissions Code requires Brighton & Hove City Council to use an ‘equal preference’ system which means that all the preferences for each school are considered at the same time. However, you do need to list your preferred schools in order of preference as we will only offer you a place at one school.
If it's possible to offer you a place at more than one school, we'll allocate the one that is highest on your list of preferences.
Checks are made on information provided by parents/carers.
If a parent/carer is found to have supplied false or misleading information to gain a place at a particular school, we reserve the right to withdraw the place, even if the child has started at the school. An example of false information would be the use of an address that is not the child’s normal residence.
It's an offence to give false information to obtain a place at a school. Brighton & Hove City Council will investigate allegations of false information and will consider further action in any such case.
We cannot guarantee that you will be offered a place at your catchment area school, even if you express a preference for the school or schools.
Living in a catchment area gives applicants a higher priority for admission to a school than applicants who live outside a catchment area. There's no guarantee of a place for applicants living within a catchment area or for applicants who subsequently move in later.
If you live in a catchment area for 2 schools and you only list one of your catchment area schools on your application, you will only be entered into the random allocation process for that school. However, if you cannot be offered a place there, or at one of your other preferences, you will not be entered into the random allocation process for the other school in your catchment area. This means that you may be offered a school you are less happy with, which is further from your home.
Parents and carers can apply for any of the schools in Brighton & Hove, regardless of whether they live in the catchment area. However, conditional on their eligibility for free school meals, children who live within the catchment area will have priority over children who live outside it.
Catchment areas are also used to decide priority in the reallocation pool, which is how we allocate places which become available later in the process.
Children are prioritised in the reallocation pool based on the Brighton & Hove City Council’s admission arrangements.
No special priority is given to the admission of these children.
You should indicate clearly on each child’s application if they have a twin or other same-year sibling also applying if you would like them to be allocated places at the same school.
In order to ensure both (or all) children are given the same school using random allocation, each child is considered separately in the random allocation tiebreak but with the same random number assigned to both (or all) children.
If it's possible to offer the last place at the preferred school to one child, then both (or all) children will be allocated a place.
If you and your child live on a boat or a traveller site, you will be treated as a resident of the catchment area within which the marina or site is situated.
Brighton Marina falls within the catchment area for Longhill.
If you're unsure which catchment area applies to your site contact the school admissions team.
No special priority is given to these children. However, for families of service personnel with a confirmed posting, or for crown servants returning from overseas, Brighton & Hove City Council will use a future address and allocate a place in advance of the family arriving in the area.
This is provided that the application is accompanied by an official letter that declares a relocation date and some evidence of the intended address.
The school admissions team will allocate school places using the address at which a child lives on the closing date for applications 31 October, although late changes of address will be considered if we receive proof of address by 22 January.
The admissions team can only use one address for admission purposes.
If your child regularly stays with another parent or relative and therefore has more than one address, the school place will be allocated based on the address at which your child is registered with a doctor, so this is the address that you should use on your application. We may ask for evidence to confirm the address given.
It's an offence to give a false address. If we offer your child a school place based on information which then turns out to be false or misleading, we reserve the right to withdraw the offer and your application will then be reconsidered based on the correct facts. This may apply even if your child has started at the school offered.
To ensure that offers of school places are made fairly, Brighton & Hove City Council is committed to following strict address verification procedures.
The address given on your application will be checked against council tax records.
After the closing date, if the school that you have applied for is oversubscribed, and you have given a home address in the catchment area, you may be asked for further proof of address.
If you have recently moved into Brighton & Hove from overseas or another part of the UK and have not yet registered for council tax in Brighton & Hove, you will need to supply one of the following:
We'll also require proof that the child you are applying for lives with you. Therefore, please provide a letter from your child’s GP, dentist, hospital, optician, NHS medical card, child trust fund document or family tax credit letter that clearly states your child’s name and address.
If you do not provide the above proofs by the date asked, we'll assume your child does not live in the catchment area.
Even if you prove that you live at the address yourself, we still need proof that your child lives there as well.
You will receive an email (or a letter) from the school admissions team informing you which school your child has been allocated.
If you want to accept the place you have been offered, you should complete and return the pupil registration form (a link is provided in the decision email) to the school at which your child has been offered a place.
The school will give you clear information about arrangements for starting school.
If your child does not take up their school place on the agreed day and you have not informed the school of any special reason for the delay, the school admissions team may give the place to another child.
You may ask the school admissions team about places at other schools.
Your child’s name will automatically be entered in the reallocation pool for your first preference school (this applies to community schools only).
You may appeal.
This is how the school admissions team allocates places that become available at oversubscribed schools. The team holds reallocation pools for community schools only.
The governors of BACA, PACA, Cardinal Newman, King’s and the admission authorities for schools in other areas may operate reallocation pools or waiting lists. You should contact the school or council concerned to find out about their procedures.
If you have applied for your child to start year 7, and you do not get your first preference school, your child’s name will be entered in the reallocation pool for that school.
Your child’s name will remain in the pool until 31 December 2025 or until a place becomes available if this happens sooner.
If you would like to be in the reallocation pool for any of your other preferences, inform us in writing or by email.
Children will be entered in a reallocation pool for community schools, according to the admission arrangements listed in section 4. Within each priority, children will be ranked by computer in a random order.
Late applicants will be added to the pool as soon as possible after they are received. Late applications and reallocation pool offers will start to be made from April onwards.
Where, after the closing date, parents/carers change preferences without changing address, new applications will be added to the reallocation pool from mid-June 2024 onwards.
Each time Brighton & Hove City Council is able to offer a place, or places at a school with a reallocation pool, a new randomised list will be generated, and the place or places allocated to the child(ren) at the top of the list.
Parents/carers notified that their child has been offered a place from a reallocation pool will have 7 days to reply before the place is offered to another child.
Details about how BACA, PACA, Cardinal Newman and Kings schools operate their waiting lists are given in section 5.
If you're unhappy with the school place your child has been offered, you can appeal to the independent appeal panel.
You should act quickly to register an appeal, normally within 20 school days of receiving an email or letter informing you of the decision about your allocation.
If your appeal is unsuccessful the authority will not normally consider a further appeal for the same school for entry in the same academic year.
You can only appeal for a place at a school for which you have expressed a preference. If you wish to appeal it's a good idea to accept the place at the school you have been offered, as this will have no effect on the outcome of your appeal and will prevent you from missing out on a school altogether.
The appeal panel will consider your appeal. This is an independent body that is not bound by Brighton & Hove City Council’s admission arrangements or the published admission numbers.
You have the right to appeal for any of your preferred schools, but you may only appeal once for each school.
The appeal panel’s decision is binding on Brighton & Hove City Council, the school and parents/carers.
Find out more about appeals and appeal online.
To find out more about appeal arrangements:
The governors of Brighton Aldridge Community Academy (BACA), Portslade Aldridge Community Academy (PACA), Cardinal Newman Catholic School and King’s School are responsible for organising their own appeals. However, this is done via the contact details above.
If your child has an Education, Health and Care Plan and you want to appeal against the school named in the plan, or against the fact that no school has been named, an appeal should be made to the special educational needs tribunal, not an appeal panel.
Phone 01273 293 552 for more information.
If you change address during the admissions process, you will need to supply proof of your new address by 22 January 2025 if you want us to base your school allocation on your new home address.
If you change address during the admissions process, before the closing date for applications, you must notify the school admissions team. If you do not, and we offer your child a place at your preferred school based on an address where you no longer live, this place will be taken away.
You should also notify the team of changes of address that happen after the closing date. If you do not, you may not receive any information from your child’s new school.
You must provide proof of all changes of address. Until we see proof of a change of address, we'll allocate a school place based on your existing address.
If your application is received after the closing date and we do not receive proof of a house move (or other independent supporting information explaining why the application is late), we'll treat this application as late. It's up to you to provide us with reasons to accept it as late with good reason.
If you're due to move to a new house within Brighton & Hove, you must still apply by the deadline and then provide your revised application and proof by 22 January.
These arrangements refer to community schools. Church voluntary aided schools, free schools and academies have their own admission arrangements that are controlled by the school governors. Contact the relevant school for further details.
If a family has a residence in Brighton & Hove and temporarily lives elsewhere (for example, a temporary job out-of-area, or abroad), the school admissions team may seek evidence of residence at both addresses and evidence that you will be returning to the area.
Contact the school admissions team if you need any advice about filling in your application if this applies to you.
Usually, we can provide free public transport from home to school if your child is:
Most children in Brighton & Hove live within walking distance of the school and will not be able to get free transport.
Distances are measured by the shortest safe walking route. This will be measured by the Brighton & Hove City Council Data map system.
If you're unable to obtain a place at your catchment area school, then free transport will be provided we're unable to offer you an alternative school within 3 miles of your home.
If you choose not to apply for your appropriate catchment area school or schools and apply for a school beyond the statutory walking distance from your home, you will not be entitled to free transport unless:
If you get the maximum amount of Working Tax Credit or free school meals for your child, we can provide free public transport for your child if they are:
When a person is first awarded tax credits, or following a change in their household circumstances, HM Revenue and Customs issue a tax credit awards notice detailing the breakdown and amount of the award.
Part 2 of the tax credits award notice gives details of ‘How we work out your tax credits’ including details of the full WTC elements. This is the maximum amount a customer can receive in WTC in any year. It then lists ‘any reduction due to your income’ and shows the net amount payable. It's therefore readily apparent from the award notice whether a person is receiving maximum WTC or a reduced sum due to income.
Only those with the maximum WTC will be entitled to the greater entitlement to free school transport.
If you're claiming entitlement to school transport on the grounds of low income, you must inform our home-to-school transport team.
To contact the home-to-school transport team:
You will need to say whether your child is entitled to free school meals, which we can check against our records, or that you receive the maximum WTC.
In the case of WTC, you will be asked to provide your award notice as proof of receipt.
You should contact the home-to-school transport team as soon as possible after you know which school your child has been allocated.
Your child may get help with transport if they can't walk to their nearest suitable school because of special educational needs and disabilities or mobility problems.
We'll require evidence of the child’s special educational needs or disabilities.
Apply for help with home-to-school transport.
Applications for help with home-to-school transport, mileage or Personal Travel Budget (PTB) will be assessed at the Home-to-School Transport Panel.
If a child is entitled to free transport, assistance could include a:
Free transport will be provided for children to attend a school based on the parent’s faith or belief (usually a voluntary aided school) if they're either:
Children travelling to school whether on public transport or in hired vehicles will be expected to behave reasonably and treat drivers, other travellers, and members of the public with courtesy and consideration.
Any breach of acceptable behaviour will be dealt with through the school’s disciplinary procedures, and if serious, could result in Brighton & Hove City Council reviewing a child’s transport arrangements.
In some cases that could mean the temporary or permanent removal of entitlement to travel on a particular route.
Any complaints from parents/carers about home-to-school transport will be investigated immediately.
Where the complaint is upheld, steps will be taken to rectify the situation by whatever means necessary.
If you have a complaint, phone 01273 293 501.
To contact the Home to school transport team:
Some of the everyday language used in this booklet has a very specific meaning when used to describe the admissions process. This section explains the meanings of some educational terms.
Academies are publicly funded independent schools, free from local authority and national government control. Other freedoms include:
The body is responsible for deciding admission priorities and for allocating school places.
In the case of community schools, this is Brighton & Hove City Council. In the case of church-voluntary aided schools, academies, and free schools, it's the school’s governing body.
The method used by the admission authority to decide which children are offered places when a school has received more applications than it has places.
A school where the buildings are maintained by the Church of England or the Catholic Church, and the governors are responsible for admissions policy.
With the exception of the costs of new buildings and maintaining the buildings, Brighton & Hove City Council meets the running costs.
Community schools are maintained entirely from public funds and are managed locally by the headteacher and governors together with Brighton & Hove City Council. Formerly known as county schools.
Free schools are all-ability government-funded schools set up in response to what local people say they want and need to improve education for children in their community.
A school that takes pupils aged between 4 and 7, who will normally go on to a junior school to complete their primary education.
A school that takes pupils aged between 7 and 11. Pupils are normally admitted after having previously attended an infant school.
The LA in Brighton & Hove is Brighton & Hove City Council.
State-funded school. In Brighton & Hove these are either community schools or church voluntary aided schools.
A school where there are more applications than available places.
A school whose governors are responsible for making decisions about admissions. Academies, Church voluntary aided schools and free schools fall into this category.
Under the terms of the Children Act 1989, married parents or the unmarried mother of a child have parental responsibilities automatically.
Other people, including unmarried fathers, stepparents, grandparents and other relations, foster carers, and others, may acquire parental responsibilities in a variety of ways.
If you're uncertain about your parental status, the school admissions team will be happy to discuss it with you. Contact the school admissions team for information.
A school which has pupils aged between 4 and 11, that is, both infant and junior age groups.
The number of pupils a school can admit in its intake year. The figure is set after consultation between Brighton & Hove City Council and the school governing body.
The method Brighton & Hove City Council uses to decide who will be offered any places at an oversubscribed community school that becomes available after initial decisions have been notified to parents.
A school that takes pupils aged between 11 and 16, or 11 and 18 where there is a sixth form.
For the purposes of the school admissions process, children are siblings if they share the same main address and live as part of the same household. You may be asked to supply proof of this.
Go to the school admissions team webpages.
Find out more about the Family Information Service.
Get information for parents who educate their children at home.
Find out more about the Ethnic Minority Achievement Service (EMAS).
Office for Standards in Education (Ofsted).