Apply for a primary school place

Timetable for primary school admissions in September 2026

Late applications

If you miss the closing date for applications, you must still apply.

You’re less likely to get a place at one of your preferred schools if you apply late.

Late applications received by 10 February 2026

If we receive your late application by 9 February, we’ll assess whether there’s good cause for the delay. If there is, we’ll treat it in the same way as applications received by the closing date. If we assess that there’s no good cause for the delay, we’ll process it from June 2026.

In your application, state the reasons why it’s late and provide evidence where possible. You’ll need to demonstrate that family or other circumstances made it impossible for you to apply by the closing date.

Examples of good cause include when a:

• single parent or carer has been ill for some time
• single parent or carer has been dealing with the death of a close relative
• family has just moved into the area or is returning from abroad

Late applications received after 10 February 2026

We’ll process all late applications received after 10 February once we’ve processed all on-time applications.

If you’re moving into Royal Greenwich after the application closing date

If you move into Royal Greenwich from another area before 10 February 2026, your previous local authority will send us your application. We’ll take over responsibility for processing it.

If you move into Royal Greenwich from another area after 10 February, your previous local authority will remain responsible for processing your application. We’ll take over responsibility after the offers are made on 16 April 2026.

If you want your child to be in a different year group than usual

If you're thinking about whether your child should start school later, move up a year, or stay in a lower year group, read our guide on how this works: