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 should print the above application form for In-Year Admission to Sutton Schools. The fully completed form should be returned to us with copies of any requested information, if you are about to move, or have recently moved to the Sutton area and wish to arrange for a place in one of our schools for your child or children and you fall into any of the following categories:

• 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.

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.

What happens after the Sutton application has been made

We understand that it can be an anxious time when you are waiting for a school place for your child, but the process is not always quick due to the application checks and processing with schools, who are the decision makers for most applications.

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 whilst the above processing takes place. 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. The London Borough of Sutton has an obligation to provide education to every child living in their Borough. If at the time of application all schools are full, the Sutton School Admissions team will then look to provide alternative education arrangements. This may mean there is a delay in your child being offered a school place. This arrangement identifies a school that is asked to admit an additional child. They try to ensure the school offered is local, but it may not be the nearest one and may not be one of the preferences.

There is free bus travel for children in London, and Sutton has good transport links which we take into account when we have to offer an alternative school.

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