Deadline approaching for secondary school places in Suffolk

Parents and carers have until Friday 31 October 2025 to submit an application to secure their child’s secondary school place for September 2026.
Published: 15 Oct 2025

This applies to children joining secondary school in the normal year of entry (Year 7). Applying after the closing date significantly reduces a child’s chances of getting a place at their preferred school.

Last year, Suffolk County Council received 7,831 on-time applications from parents and carers indicating which secondary school they would prefer their child to be educated at from September 2025 in Year 7. Of these, 92% of applicants received an offer for their first preference school and 97.5% of applicants received an offer for one of their three preferred schools.

It is important for parents and carers to complete and submit their application by the closing date of 31 October 2025 as this will give them the best chance of securing a place at one of their preferred schools. Parents and carers should carefully consider which secondary schools to apply for on behalf of their child. We recommend that they apply for more than one school, and up to three schools can be listed on the application.
Councillor Andrew Reid, Suffolk County Council’s Cabinet Member for Education and SEND
Councillor Andrew Reid, Suffolk County Council’s Cabinet Member for Education and SEND

A completed application must be submitted for every child requiring a Year 7 place at a secondary school. For families who are planning to move house or think their circumstances may change before next September, it is still important to make an application on time using the child’s current address. Further information to help parents and carers with this process is available at www.suffolk.gov.uk/admissions.

Parents and carers should apply online as they will receive an email confirming that their application has been received. If they are unable to apply online, they should complete a paper application (CAF1). It is suggested parents and carers obtain proof of postage as these cannot be acknowledged.

Before making a school application, parents and carers need to carefully consider how they will get their child to and from school. Children are eligible for school travel if they attend their nearest suitable school with a place available and meet the distance criteria. This might not be the catchment area school. To find out more about SCC’s School Travel Policy please visit www.suffolkonboard.com/schooltravel.

Families who apply online will be able to log on to the Online Service on National Offer Day (Monday 2 March 2026) to see their offer of a school place. An email confirmation will also be sent on the day. For those who completed paper applications, offer letters will be sent out by second class post on National Offer Day.

Applications can be made at www.suffolk.gov.uk/admissions, where further advice and guidance is also available.