Junior Year 3 transfer

The deadline to apply is 15 January 2026. 

Applications received by this date will be processed on National Offer Day, 16 April 2026.

Visit the school

Before you complete an application, we recommend that you visit the school you want your child to attend. You can do this by contacting the school directly to arrange an appointment.

You can also:

• talk to other parents
• look at your catchment area
• attend open days.

Who can apply

Junior applications can only be made for Year 2 children transferring to Year 3 at a junior school.

If your child attends a primary school already, and you want them to transfer to another primary school for Year 3, this will be treated as an in-year transfer. The earliest such applications can be submitted is June 2026. See the school transfers page for further information.

Junior applications are not limited to just the schools above. Any junior school of Oxfordshire can be listed as a preference for infant to junior transfer. If you cannot find your preferred school on our portal, please contact us to request that it is added. 

Details for every state-funded Oxfordshire school are on our list of schools page. On this page, you can find each school’s location, contact details, catchment area (where it has one), admissions rules and history of allocation data.

However, it is important to note that junior school applications can only be made for children in Year 2 transferring to Year 3.

If your child attends a primary school already, and you want them to transfer to another primary school for Year 3, this will be treated as an in-year transfer. The earliest such applications can be submitted is June 2026. Please see school transfers page for further information.

Catchment areas

Many, but not all, junior schools have catchment areas.

Where your child has a catchment area school, they are more likely to be considered a higher priority applicant for a place, but it isn't guaranteed. If there are more applications than places, we follow the school's published admission rules to decide priority. The catchment area is one of the ways that places at schools are decided. There are other factors, such as whether a child has a brother or sister at the school or whether they have special educational needs. Religious or faith schools could use the religion of your child or family as a deciding factor.

You can find details of catchment areas for schools that use them on our list of schools page.

Think about how your child will get to school

Free home to school transport

When applying for a school place, you need consider how your child will travel to and from school each day. If you choose a school that is further away than your nearest suitable school, your child may not be eligible for free home-to-school travel support. We encourage all families to think carefully about the practicalities of the journey, including travel time, costs, and arrangements, before making a final decision.

Primary school children are eligible for free home to school travel support where:

• they attend their nearest available school (not always their catchment school) and
• the school is over two miles from their home address for 5-to-7-year-olds, and over three miles for older children.

If your child attends their nearest suitable school and the walking distance is less than the above distances, we may still provide travel assistance if we have determined that there is no available walking route. 

Please note:

If you choose a school that is further from your home than your nearest suitable school, your child will not be eligible for free home-to-school travel, even if there is no available walking route. Eligibility for travel assistance is based on the nature of the route to the nearest suitable school only, so it's important to consider this when selecting a school place.

If you are considering free home-to-school travel as part of your school application, it is very important to familiarise yourself with the nearest suitable schools to your home address. Eligibility for travel assistance is based on distance and the nature of the route to the nearest suitable school, not the school of your choice. 

Nearest available school

When assessing for free transport, we do not measure the distance to the nearest school in the same way as the catchment school. So, the nearest school may not be your child's catchment school.

To find out where your nearest school is, contact us. 

How places were allocated in previous years

The catchment area is one of the ways that places at schools are decided. There are other factors, such as whether a child has a brother or sister at the school or whether they have special educational needs. Religious or faith schools could use the religion of your child or family as a deciding factor.

Find the admission rules for all state-funded schools, and how places were allocated on the individual school pages.

Independent school

If your child is going to attend an independent school, you must provide us with the name of the school in writing as soon as possible by emailing admissions.schools@oxfordshire.gov.uk

Home educating

If you are going to educate your child at home, please let us know in writing as soon as possible by emailing admissions.schools@oxfordshire.gov.uk. Contact the Elective Home Education Team for further information.

Where to get more information

For advice and information about applying for a junior school place, please contact us (School Admissions Team).

More detailed information about the application process for junior school applications can be found in our booklet Stepping Up (pdf format, 911Kb)