Newham School Admissions
Year 6 families in Newham have one national deadline, six preferences and a clear order of priority to understand before ranking schools.
By the Ledger desk3 min read
Photo: Mx. Granger / Wikimedia Commons, CC0
Newham parents applying for a Year 7 place must submit their application through the Pan-London eAdmissions website by 11.59pm on 31 October in their child's Year 6, or it is processed as late. Offers come out on 1 March, and Newham residents can name up to six schools in order of preference.
How to apply
Parents or carers apply through their home council, which for Newham residents means the Pan-London eAdmissions portal, even when the schools they want are in another borough. Applicants register, create a password and list their preferences in rank order, with the first preference being the highest. Changes to the list or the order can be made on eAdmissions as many times as needed up to the closing date. Families without internet access can get help to apply at any Newham primary or junior school.
| Step | Date |
|---|---|
| Applications open | September of Year 6 |
| National closing day for on-time applications | 31 October, 11.59pm |
| National offer day | 1 March, or the next working day if it falls on a weekend or bank holiday |
Forms received after the 31 October cut-off are counted as late. Late applications are only considered once all on-time applicants have been given places, which greatly reduces the chance of a preferred school. Newham will only treat a late application as on time in exceptional circumstances, with evidence, and there is no right of appeal against that decision. Open days and evenings are organised by each school, so families should check individual school websites for dates.
On offer day, online applicants can see the outcome on eAdmissions from late afternoon. An offer at a Newham school stands unless the family says it has made other arrangements, but an offer at a school outside Newham must be accepted on eAdmissions by the deadline given, or it is withdrawn.
How places are decided
Each school has its own admission arrangements, and all of them must follow the national School Admissions Code, which requires the oversubscription criteria and the order they are applied in to be published. Children with an Education, Health and Care plan naming a school are admitted first. For council-run schools in Newham, the order is then:
- looked-after and previously looked-after children
- children the council's Special Educational Needs Service assesses as needing that particular school
- children with a sibling on roll
- children of staff directly employed by the school
- service children
- all other children
Within each group, priority goes to the shortest walking distance from home to school, and a random draw settles exact ties. No state-funded school in Newham has a catchment area. Academies and faith schools can set their own criteria, and some use straight-line distance or random allocation instead; faith schools may also ask for a supplementary form, returned to the school itself, so check each school's policy before ranking it.
What happens if a place is refused
The admission authority must tell you, in writing, the reason for refusal, your right to appeal and the deadline for lodging an appeal. Families have a right of appeal to an independent panel for any school named on their application, even one ranked below the school offered, and the child is automatically placed on the waiting list for every school ranked higher than the one offered. Accepting the offered place does not harm an appeal, and Newham advises families to accept and attend it while they wait.
General information, checked against the sources below at the time of writing. Rules, rates and deadlines change, often each April; confirm with GOV.UK, the council or the organisation concerned before you rely on them. For advice on your own case, Citizens Advice is free.
