Introduction
What to do if you want to accept the school place you have been offered
If you have been offered a school place in Somerset we will assume that you want this place unless you tell us otherwise in writing. You do not need to contact us to accept the place, and your child’s new school will contact you in due course.
If you have been offered a school in another local authority please contact that local authority directly to accept the place.
If you later decide you do not want this place, please email us because another child may need the place.
You can still appeal for a place at your preferred school if you accept the place you have been offered.
How to appeal
You have a legal right to appeal against the decision not to offer your child a place at one or more of your preferred schools. If you choose to appeal, admission authorities must make arrangements for an independent panel to hear your appeal. Whatever decision the panel takes, neither the admission authority nor the school can reverse it. You can make an appeal for a place at one or more schools, even if you decide to accept a place at another.
If you wish to appeal for a school in another local authority area please see the section below called – ‘Refusal of a school in another local authority’.
If you are appealing for an infant, first or primary school place, please first visit our Appeals for a place to start school in September page to identify the type of appeal you will be making.
There are 2 types of appeal, ‘infant class size appeals’ and ‘standard appeals’. The page detailed above includes information on the type of appeal, by school, and information on the limitations of an Infant Class Size Appeal. It is very important that you identify which type of appeal you will be submitting.
If your child is due to start at any of the following and you wish to appeal your school admissions outcome, please submit your appeal form online.
- Year 7 at a Secondary school in September
- Reception at a Primary/First/Infant School in September
- Year 3 at a Junior school in September
- Year 5 at a Middle school in September
- There is a leaflet which explains more about the appeals process, alongside an appeals timetable in the downloads section at the bottom of this page. It may also be helpful to visit our ‘Appeal a school admissions decision‘ page.
Please note: if the grounds for your appeal include bullying or other issues at a school, you should be aware that it is likely that the school will be asked to comment. This information will then be made available to the Appeal Panel at the hearing.
Please note: The School Admission Appeals Code requires that appellants set out their grounds for appeal in writing. For your appeal to be valid, you must include a reason for your appeal.
Somerset Choice Advice Service
The Somerset Choice Advice Service is a free, impartial service to help families with school admissions and appeals. For more information please visit their website and see the leaflet in the downloads section.
Applying for a different school
If you do not want the place you have been offered, you can apply for another school. You can apply online. If you make a late application for an alternative school with places, you will need to consider how you will get your child to school.
Apply for a school admission
For secondary admissions, we aim to send outcomes on 3 May 2024 for applications received by 22 March 2024 and for primary admissions we aim to send outcomes on 7 June 2024 for applications received by 3 May 2024. After these dates, applications will be processed in strict date order, based on when they were received.
For a list of Somerset schools that have places available, please visit the downloads section on this page.
To help you make your decision, we recommend that you visit any school you are interested in.
New applications for places will be considered in line with the admission arrangements published in the ‘Secondary Admissions Guide’ or ‘Primary Admissions Guide‘. If schools become over-subscribed, the published admissions criteria will be applied when allocating the remaining places.
Turning down the school place you have been offered
You may decide to turn down the place offered and make your own arrangements for your child’s education – for example, your child may have been offered a place at an independent school or you may decide that you want to educate your child at home.
If this is the case please email us at schooladmissions@somerset.gov.uk
If you decide to educate your child at home, you can register your child for ‘Elective Home Education’.
Waiting lists
For every over-subscribed school, a ranked waiting list will be held until at least 31 December 2024, or longer depending on the admissions authority. Your child will stay on this list regardless of any new preference you may have submitted or any decision you have made to appeal for a place at another school. If a place becomes available within the published admission number, it will be offered to the highest-ranked child on the waiting list. The waiting list will take account of applications received either as part of initial on-time allocations or subsequent allocation rounds.
Please note: you must tell us about any change in circumstances so that your child is ranked in the correct place on the waiting list. It is your responsibility to let us know, in writing, if you move house.
If a place becomes available for your child and you accept it, your child will be removed from the waiting list of any lower-preference schools you were previously refused.
If you have been refused a place at a Voluntary Controlled or Community School and you wish for your child to remain on the waiting list after 31 December you must email schooladmissions@somerset.gov.uk by the beginning of the Spring Term to request this.
If you have been refused a place at a school within another local authority, please contact that local authority directly about waiting lists.
Allocation summary
Find a summary of how places were allocated at the schools where it has not been possible to offer your child a place.