In-year admissions

Children new to the area, changing schools in-year or without a school

Due to the unprecedented amount of In Year school applications and emails currently being received, there will be a delay to our response times. When sending an email, please ensure that all the information requested is in one email and additional or chaser emails are not sent.

If you are a resident in Sutton, your application will be monitored until a school place has been secured and we will contact you for more information if required. If you live outside of Sutton, you should contact your home Local Authority for further advice.

We appreciate your patience at the extremely busy time.

Application Form for In-Year Admission to Sutton Schools

• you have just moved to Sutton and your child is NOT attending a school within a reasonable travel distance from your new address
• you have just moved within Sutton and your previous school is not within reasonable travel distance/time from your new address
• your child has been educated at home
• your child is moving out of independent schooling
• you are moving close to the borough boundary but not within Sutton and wish to apply to Sutton schools
• you have moved to the UK from overseas*

We receive many in-year applications and these are generally where families are moving into Sutton or are moving within the borough and their previous school is not within reasonable travel distance/time from the new address.

If you are thinking about changing schools for reasons other than a house move we strongly advise that you discuss the proposed transfer with your current school. Please note, if your child is currently in year 6 or is currently in years 10 or 11 and studying for their GCSE exams at secondary school, we discourage any disruption to the child’s education unless there are exceptional circumstances (for example, a change of address). It's important that your child remains at their current school until an alternative place has been found at another school.

Applications for Sutton schools will not normally be accepted more than 4 school weeks prior to the intended date of admission. An exception to this will be where places are requested for the beginning of the next academic year in September when applications can be made after the May half term.

To help you speed up the process, view our vacancy checker to see which schools may have current vacancies.

If you wish to make an in-year application for a school outside the borough, even if you will be a Sutton resident, you must make an application to the borough where the school is located.

*It is the responsibility of parents to check that their children have a right, under their visa entry conditions, to study at a school.

Parents should check that they have a right of abode or that the conditions of their immigration status otherwise permit them to access a state-funded school.

Any EEA or Swiss national arriving in the UK before 31 December 2020 is eligible to apply to the EU Settlement Scheme up until 30 June 2021, and continue to be able to study in schools in England as they do now if their application is successful.

Children aged under 18 are classed as dependant children if they are the children of foreign nationals who have settled status in the UK, or who are entering the UK on a work visa or Student visa, or who are part of a family entering or residing in the UK under the immigration route for British National (Overseas) citizens and their dependants. These children are entitled to enter the country with their family, or to join their family and study at a state-funded or independent school once in the UK.

Unaccompanied children may also enter the UK to access a school. To comply with their visa terms, unaccompanied foreign national children, and young people (including such EEA nationals entering the UK after 31 December 2020) who are entering on a Child Student visa or Student visa must, when accessing education in England, study at the independent school, sixth form college or further education college which is sponsoring them.

Foreign nationals cannot use the 6-month Standard Visitor visa, or 11-month Short-term Study (English language) visa, to enter the UK to enrol as a pupil at a school. Find out what these visas can be used for on the Standard Visitor visa page.

Find out more about visas and immigration and the EU Settlement Scheme for EEA and Swiss citizens.

Irish citizens’ right to live in the UK will not change. Irish citizens do not need to apply for the EU Settlement Scheme, but their family members, who are not Irish or UK citizens, will need to apply.

What happens after the Sutton application has been made

In most circumstances we will not be in a position to update you on the status of your application for at least 20 school days after receipt because it will require direct contact with the school.

Please do not e-mail or call us about the status of your application until this time has passed. This should provide enough time for an outcome to be provided.

If no place is available at one of your preferred schools, you will be given a right of appeal and advised about waiting list procedures.

Applying for a school place - supplementary forms

Some schools require additional information to consider your application. Contact your preferred  schools directly to see if one is needed, as part of your in-year application.

Further information