britinchina

Hello All,

Has anyone tried applying for primary school places in the UK before moving back?

We are thinking of moving back in June next year and are worried about getting places at decent schools for our kids who are due to start Years 1 and 3 respectively.

The local Authority say that you need to be living in the UK when you make the school applications. Has anyone tried applying for places using your parents address in the UK before moving back? is this impossible?

It doesn't seem very easy for expats moving back from abroad to get places for their kids as schools don't process applications during the summer holidays.

Any advice or useful links would be much appreciated.

Thanks.

christmasoompa

You can't apply unless you have an address of your own, your parent's won't work - bear in mind the council do check things like council tax records, to check you are actually resident there. For my son's primary school application they even turned up on the doorstep (we live in an area with some of the best schools in the country and competition for places can be fierce!). As part of your application you'll have to sign a scary declaration about fraud etc and confirm you do live there full-time.

The school holidays shouldn't impact your application at all, applications are still processed by the council during that time.

Best of luck.

britinchina

Thanks very much for your reply. I've been living in China for almost 10 years where rules and regulations are very " flexible " let's say. I will need to get used to the living in the UK again where generally the rules are the rules!

I understand different councils have different policies. I got an e-mail from an Admissions Assistant in Kent who said that applications will not be processed from the 3rd week of July until the first week of September.

" Schools summer holidays start from the 3rd week of July to the 1st week of September. Any forms submitted during this time will not be processed until schools reopen in September. "

Thanks again for sharing your experience. Applying before arriving back in the UK is clearly a definite no no.