Time to apply for secondary school places

Parents of year 6 pupils living in Dronfield can now apply to Derbyshire County Council for their child's secondary school place for September 2019.

Applying online is the easiest method and can be done in the school admissions section of the Derbyshire County Council website.

The deadline to submit applications is at midnight on Wednesday 31 October 2018.

Applying online is quicker and allows parents to make changes to their application at any point up to the closing date. Anyone who applies online will receive an email to confirm their application has been received.

Alternatively parents can call Derbyshire County Council on 01629 533190 between 8am and 8pm on weekdays and 9.30am and 4pm on Saturdays.

When completing the application form parents will be asked to list, in order of preference, the 3 schools they would most like their child to go to.

Parents can still choose to complete a paper form, which they can get by emailing admissions.transport@derbyshire.gov.uk or phoning 01629 537499. This must be returned to the admissions and transport team at the address shown on the form by the closing date.

Although parents have a legal right to express preferences they have no automatic right to a place at any particular school.

Applications submitted after the deadline will not be considered until places have been allocated to those children whose parents did return their form on time.

Parents who fail to meet the deadline may find that the school they want their child to go to is full.

Dronfield Town Councillor and Derbyshire County Council Cabinet Member for Young People, Alex Dale said:

"As the new school term begins, the time has come for parents with children in year 6 to apply for their child's secondary school place for September 2019.

"It's really quick and easy to apply – especially if parents do it online as there is a dedicated team on hand to help parents with the application process.

"Picking the right school is a big decision so we're asking parents to take their time to explore all of their options and send in their application before the deadline on Wednesday 31 October."

Councillor Dale added:

"Missing the deadline could mean parents are less likely to get a place at their preferred school and could mean their child may have to travel further to an alternative school or not get into the same school as their friends."

Any parents who are a refused a place for their child have a right of appeal to an independent panel.