Applying for Secondary School or Sixth Form

What school is best for your child?

Choosing where to go for secondary school and sixth form can be daunting and the fact that the process varies across the country, across local authorities and depending on the type of school doesn't help.

First and foremost, it is important to keep the interest and wellbeing of your child at the centre of the decision making process. Too often as parents, we have our own ideas of where we want our children to go and we try to move heaven and earth to get there however, it is important to remember that it is the child who will attend the school and spend the majority of their week there.

Things to consider:

• Big school vs Small school. You know your child best, what would best suit them.

• Academic Attainment vs Culture & Extra-curricular?

• Travel. Ease of travel, journey times and travel costs.

• Read the schools' latest Ofsted Inspection report by visiting the Ofsted website.

• Facilities for sports, lunch and library services. Young people like to visit the toilets.

Make your shortlist and discuss this with your child. Attend the open days of all schools on your shortlist with your child and discuss the pro and cons. Make a note of these so that you do not forget some of these by the time you have seen a few schools.

Open events are often concentrated in the months of September and October.

Things to do:

• Note the key dates in your diary: Open events dates, Application deadlines, Offer date. Note that some schools have their own application deadlines which are often earlier than the local authority general application deadline dates.

• Find out the school application deadline during the open day events.

• Apply on time. Whilst some schools (particularly sixth forms) accept direct applications, most applications are done through your local authority. Visit their website for information on how to do this.

How to Apply

Follow advice on how to apply for a secondary school place for your area from the government website.