What happens after you apply to change schools

Making changes to your application

If you’ve submitted an online application, you can make changes to your application at any time.

Make changes to your in-year school admission application

If you’ve submitted a paper form, you need to send your change request to us in writing.

Email us at school-admissions@royalgreenwich.gov.uk or post it to School Admissions, The Woolwich Centre, 35 Wellington Street, London SE18 6HQ.

How we process your application

After we receive your application, we'll:

  • process it within 10 to 15 school days
  • contact you to let you know our decision

The process could take longer if:

  • your application is not complete
  • we're waiting for documents from you

When we make an offer, the move applies:

  • immediately, if we receive it between September and June
  • from September in the next academic year, if we receive it in July or August 

if your child is not offered a place at any school on your list

Primary schools

If you live in the borough, we’ll allocate your child the next closest school to your home address that has vacancies. The allocation process is based solely on home to school distance.

Secondary schools

If you live in the borough, your child is out of school and there are no places available in our community schools, we’ll contact you to:

  • confirm we’re unable to offer a preferred school
  • advise you of your right of appeal
  • support you to find your child a place within a school that manages their own admissions, such as an academy or faith school

If you have not secured a place through the usual in-year admissions process and your child is out of school, notify us as soon as possible so we can support you further. This may include a referral through our Fair Access Protocol (FAP) if the application meets the protocol.

Waiting lists

We’ll automatically add your child’s name to the waiting list for any community school or academy you ranked higher than the school you’ve been offered.

If you do not want your child's name added to a waiting list, email to let us know at school-admissions@royalgreenwich.gov.uk

We maintain waiting lists until 31 August.

If you’d like your child's name to remain on a waiting list for the following school year, you’ll need to make a new application from 1st July.

Appeal a school place decision

You can appeal the decision not to offer your child a place at any of the schools you applied for.

The appeal decision is not influenced by your acceptance of the school place you’ve been offered.

If your appeal is unsuccessful, you should accept the school offered.

Find out more about how to appeal a school admissions decision

Fair access to school places

We have a Fair Access Protocol to ensure we find and offer a school place to any child without one. This is particularly important for the most vulnerable children. 

We want to minimise the amount of time any child is out of school.

 Find out more about fair access to school places