Admissions - change of school

Applying for a school place in a primary, infant, junior or secondary school at any time after the normal intake

If you live in Solihull you can fill in the form to apply for a school place and send it to us.  If you live outside Solihull you must contact your home council for a form.  They will send details of your application to us.

Many Solihull primary schools are full and you are advised to contact the Admissions Team about vacancies.  Most secondary schools are full and a satisfactory alternative cannot always be found.  If you are not offered a place at your preferred school you will have the right of appeal, but this process can take in excess of six weeks.

Applying for a nursery place

If your child has a birthday between 1 September 2008 and 31 August 2009 and you want to apply for a nursery place you can print the nursery application form, fill it in and send it to us, regardless of where you live.

Catchment areas

You can find out about catchment areas and measure your distance from home to a school using online maps.  Living in the catchment area for a school does not guarantee that you will be offered a place.  If the school is full we will not be able to offer a place, but living in the catchment area will give you a higher priority on the waiting list.

What is the procedure if I am moving house?

Phone the Admission Team to talk about possible vacancies.  If there are vacancies at your preferred school you will be offered a place, which should be taken up within half a term.

• If there are no vacancies at your preferred school(s) we will need a solicitor’s letter stating that contracts have been exchanged and specifying a completion date; or a signed and dated tenancy agreement.  You must also provide proof that you have sold or rented out your previous property.  A letter of intention to purchase is not sufficient.
• If you cannot provide satisfactory proof we may ask for further documents or send an education welfare officer to your home.
• If we believe that the move is temporary and a deliberate device to improve your priority for a school place we will not use the new address.

What to do if your child is experiencing difficulties at school?

• Before making a change of school application you must contact your child’s current school to arrange an appointment with the Head Teacher, Head of Year or your child’s form tutor/class teacher to discuss a possible course of action.  If your child is being bullied you may ask to see the school’s ‘Anti-Bullying Policy’.  If you have already removed your child from their current school, you must contact Education Welfare on 0121 788 1505 for help and support.  If, after all of the above, the matter has not been resolved you can fill in an application form.  You will need to take the form to your child’s current or most recent school so they can fill in section 2.  If the circumstances are complex it will take longer to process the application.

Children with a statement of special educational needs

You must phone the Statutory Assessment and Review Team on 0121 704 6690 for advice.  You cannot use our application form.

Applications for pupils in year 10 and year 11

Moving children after the start of Year 10 puts them at a disadvantage.  It is unlikely that the same GCSE options will be available and schools often follow different courses.  For this reason transfer requests will be referred back to the current school unless a house move means that travel is impossible.   You must provide details of the subjects being studied, the examination boards and predicted grades.

Application process

You can name up to three schools that you would like your child to go to and rank them in order of preferences.  If your application includes a voluntary-aided (church) school you should contact the school for more information. When the application is complete we will contact your preferred schools to find out if there is a place.  If the school is full your child's name will be put on the waiting list.  We will send you a letter telling you the outcome of your application.  If you are offered a place you should contact the school within 2 weeks to accept the place and arrange a start date.  If you are not happy with your outcome you can appeal against the decision.  You should phone the Admissions Team for an appeal form.  The appeal process can take up to six weeks.