Apply for a secondary or upper school place

The closing date for applications was 31 October 2024.

If you have not already applied, you can still make an application but it will not be included in our on-time allocation.

You should submit your application by 24 January 2025 in order to be included in our first late allocation.

You can download or view our application form to post or email to us:

We will let you know your outcome:

• on 3 March 2025 if you apply on time (before the 31 October 2024)
• on 24 March 2025 if you apply late (between 1 November 2023 and 24 January 2025)
• from April onwards if you apply after 25 January 2025

You must apply to the local authority where you live, even if the schools you are applying for are in another area.

If you are a resident outside of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole then you should contact your local council for details of how to apply:

• Dorset residents
• Hampshire residents

Applying on faith grounds

There are faith schools within Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole that require proof of religious commitment to be considered under their faith criteria.

The following schools also have SIFs. These need to be returned to the school by the closing date of 31 October 2024:

• St Edward’s RC CE VA School

• St Peter’s Catholic School

If you are thinking of applying to a faith school in another local authority, please check their website and policy to find out if they require completion of their own SIF.

If you do not return a completed SIF by the published closing date your application will still be processed but the SIF will not be taken into account.

Applying on pupil premium or service premium grounds

The following schools consider pupil premium and/or service premium and require proof to be considered under their premium criteria:

• Bournemouth School
• Bournemouth School for Girls
• Parkstone Grammar School
• Poole Grammar School

If you wish to apply for a place on pupil premium or service premium grounds, please check their website and policy to find out more.

If you do not return a completed SIF by the published closing date, your application will still be processed but the SIF will not be taken into account.

Late applications

Applications received after the published closing dates will be processed after all the on time applications. This may mean that regularly oversubscribed schools are full before late applications are considered.

Further information

You can find information about all aspects of starting or moving up to a school in our parents guides. Once you have read these, if you have any further questions please contact our Children's Information Service by:

• telephone on 01202 123222
• email at cis@bcpcouncil.gov.uk

We recommended that you read the full admissions policy for the school(s) you wish to apply for.

Allocations from previous years

You can see how secondary school places have been allocated for previous years in the summaries below.