Apply for a year 7 place for September 2025
Our telephone lines will be answered during the followings times:
Week commencing 2 September from 8.30am to 5pm
Week commencing 9 September from 8.30am to 5pm
Week commencing 16 September from 9am to 4pm
Week commencing 23 September onwards from 9.30am to 3.30pm
Telephone 01332 642350
Alternatively, you can email admissions@derby.gov.uk, we will respond to you within 3 working days.
How to apply
If:
- your child is starting secondary school for the first time in September 2025 and
- you live in Derby.
Follow these steps to apply for a secondary school place:
- Find your nearest secondary schools
- Read the Secondary schools admissions handbook
- Apply online
If you live outside of Derby and need a place here, you should still apply to your current local council.
If you want a place in an independent school or private school, contact the school directly.
When applying for a place, remember that if you are applying for a place at:
- a Roman Catholic school - you will also need to fill out a Roman Catholic supplementary information form
- Derby Cathedral School - you will also need to fill out the Derby Cathedral School supplementary application form.
When to apply
You can make an online application from 2 September 2024 until 31 October 2024.
You can make a telephone application from 16 September 2024 until 31 October 2024 (4:30pm).
Late applications
Applying late means you have less chance of getting your preferred school because we offer places to on-time applications first.
Places at your preferred school may have already been taken by on-time applicants.
National Offer Day
We will send offers of places on National Offer Day – 3 March 2025
Separated parents
If the child’s parents are separated or divorced, there are various things that need to be considered depending on the situation.
What if the child’s parents live at separate addresses?
If you move house and your catchment area changes we will need to see proof that this is your main residential address. This is where your child lives at the time of application and admission.
If the residency of your child is split between both parents, we consider the home address to be the address where the child lives for most of the school week (Monday to Friday).
If the child spends equal amounts of time at both addresses, you will be asked to nominate which address you wish to use for the purpose of allocating a school place.
What happens if both parents cannot agree on the choice of schools?
You are advised to seek to reach an agreement with any other person who may apply for a place for your child, such as another parent.
If one parent has parental responsibility (as evidenced by documentation), that parent's application is the one that we will accept.
If parents are separated and both have parental responsibility, then they must determine between them who will make the application and if they cannot agree then either parent may seek to have that determined by a court.
In the event of a dispute between parents who do not have this matter resolved by the court by the closing date, we will accept the application by the parent with whom the child resides the majority of the school week. Where that is equal, we will be unable to process the application further until the matter has been resolved. We encourage parents to resolve any disagreements quickly as delay may affect the availability of places at preferred schools.
Temporary variations in Published Admissions Number
If you require any further information, please contact the Admissions Team, email admissions@derby.gov.uk.
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