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Making your in-year school application

Making your in-year application

You will need to make an in-year application if you want your child to move schools during the school year.

This includes:

A house with an arrow pointing to a clipboard to symbolise changing schools

Changing schools if your child already attends a West Northamptonshire school

An arrow pointing from the UK to West Northamptonshire to symbolise moving to West Northants

Moving to West Northamptonshire from another local authority area or abroad

An arrow pointing from a neighbouring county to West Northamptonshire to symbolise moving to West Northants

Living in a neighbouring authority but wanting to attend a school in West Northamptonshire

Please read the important information below before completing the application form.

Note that:

  • you can only apply for a school place up to 20 school days before the place is required. Applications outside of this timescale will not be processed
  • the child must be a resident of the UK (see 'Moving to West Northamptonshire' below)
  • you may state up to 4 preferences on the application form
  • you may only apply if you are the person with parental responsibility for the child

Some schools may require you to complete additional supplementary information forms (SIFs) and return them directly to the school to enable their oversubscription criteria to be applied. For example, this may include schools which prioritise children of a certain faith. Check with the school or in the in-year admission arrangements below.
 

You should be aware when making an application that:

  • moving into a school’s linked village or area does not necessarily guarantee your child a place at that school
  • if your preferred school(s) is full, we will offer a place at the closest school to your home address with a vacancy
  • for families with more than one child, it can sometimes be difficult to allocate places for all the children in the same school. The result may be that siblings have to be split across two or more schools or that, in order to keep the children together, we may only be able to allocate a school which is not your preferred school and which may be some distance away from the home address
  • if you are moving to West Northamptonshire, documentary evidence in the form of a solicitor’s letter to confirm exchange of contracts or a copy of your signed tenancy, or rental agreement, may be required to verify your address
  • if you are moving from overseas you should check that your child has an immigration status which permits them to enter the UK to access a state-funded school before making your application

Special conditions apply to UK Armed Service Personnel and other Crown Servants.

For families of service personnel with confirmed posting to their area, or crown servants returning from overseas to live in that area, places will be allocated in advance of the family arriving in the area. This is provided the application is accompanied by an official letter declaring a relocation date and a Unit postal address or quartering area address.

If it is not possible to offer a place at the preferred school, a place will be offered at the closest school with a vacancy in the appropriate year group.

If your child has an Education, Health and Care (EHC) Plan, there is a different process for these applications.

Find out about the EHC Plan admission process.

Where to make your application

Not all in-year applications should be made to us. Some schools manage their own in-year applications and parents should apply directly to the school.

Make your application to us – all other schools

To apply for a place at any other school, complete our online form.

A reference number will be automatically generated following successful submission of your form.

Apply now

Schools outside of West Northamptonshire

To make an in-year application for a place at a school outside of West Northamptonshire, please contact the local authority in which the school is situated.

For more information about the in-year application process including waiting lists, finding your local schools and how places are allocated, read our advice to parents.

Admission arrangements for the 2025-26 academic year

For more information about the in-year application process including waiting lists, finding your local schools and how places are allocated, see Changing Schools – advice to parents.

You can download the information below for useful information about all schools in West Northamptonshire including their admission arrangements and whether a SIF may be required as part of your application.

Primary in-year admission arrangements for 2025-26

PDF3.29 MB

Secondary in-year admission arrangements for 2025-26

PDF1.67 MB

You can also read the admission arrangements for community and voluntary controlled schools in West Northamptonshire for 2025 intakes.

Determined Admission Arrangements for C and VC schools

PDF231.49 KB

Last updated 09 October 2025