Moving to a different school

We call applying to change school during the academic year and in-year transfer.

Before you start

In-year transfers for the 2023/24 academic year

We aim to process in-year transfers within 15 school days.

Please note it may take longer to respond to applicants where we are waiting for academies to make a decision or where demand exceeds capacity.

Delays can also occur where academies have monthly admissions meetings and where academies refuse to admit children requesting places for particular year groups.

Some academies will refuse any applications for Year 10 and Year 11 regardless of the reason for applying.

We will refer an application to the In-Year Fair Access Panel for a decision if an application has been refused, there are no places available at schools in the area and the child is not being educated.

The panel has the authority to offer children places above the published admission number. This process can take an additional 20 school days to complete.

Limited space in several areas

Currently, there are very few or no places available in:

  • secondary schools in Oxford
  • primary schools across Didcot

Applications will be referred to the In-Year Fair Access Panel to decide on any applications. This will be for children not currently on roll at a school or who need a place at a local school. Where applicants already attend a local school, their application will be refused.

Applications for Year 10 and Year 11

We strongly advise parents not to submit in-year transfers for places in Year 10 or Year 11.

Many Oxfordshire secondary schools will likely refuse applications for children to transfer schools in Year 10 and Year 11, regardless of the reason for the request.

Schools are unlikely to offer places while children prepare for their final GCSE exams. Extra admissions at this stage could be detrimental to children's education and the efficient use of resources at the school. In addition, some GCSE options will be full.

Warning

Year 11 placements rarely work to a child’s advantage and use disproportionate resources.

Contact your SEN officer

For children with an education, health and care plan (EHCP), you must contact your special educational needs (SEN) officer to request a school transfer. You can find out more on the Oxfordshire local offer web pages.

Finding a school place

You will be asked to list up to four schools as preferences when you apply for a place. We would advise you to list four schools to maximise the chance of getting a school that you want.

We can help you to:

  • find out about schools
  • find admission criteria for the schools you are interested in.

Try to visit all the schools to get a sense of whether your child will be happy there. How to find out about schools.

Waiting list

It is not always possible to offer a place at a requested school.

There is a waiting list for each school that unsuccessful applicants can join.

The lists are ranked in order using the published admissions rules for each school. Unprocessed applications are considered alongside, not separately, from those on the list. If a place becomes available at a school, we will contact the parents of the highest priority child.

Waiting lists for most schools will be maintained until 30 June each year, after which they will close. Some schools may end their list earlier than this date. Please check individual school websites for details. More about waiting lists.

Home to school transport

If you apply for a place at a school that is further away than your nearest available school, you should consider how your child will get to school. Find your nearest school.

Children under the age of eight are eligible for free home to school transport where they attend their nearest available school if that school is over two miles from their home address.

However, transport can also be provided where the distance to the nearest available school is less than two miles, and the route is currently listed as too dangerous to walk by the council.

Children over the age of eight from Year 3 to Year 11 are eligible for free home to school transport where they attend their nearest available school if that school is over three miles from their home address. However, transport can also be provided where the distance to the nearest available school is less than three miles, and the council currently lists the route as too dangerous to walk.

Read our travelling to school page for further details and the full transport policy.