AfC Info website - Kingston and Richmond

The normal first point of entry into school is Reception into a primary school, Year 3 into junior school, and Year 7 into a secondary school. These children transfer into their schools as a year group at the beginning of the academic year in September. 

An individual application to transfer outside of the normal first point of entry is known as an in-year transfer. This is used for children moving into the area, or transferring from one school to another. In-year transfer applications are administered by the local authority in which the school sits. 

If you are considering transferring your child from their existing school, you should discuss this with the headteacher of your child’s current school before submitting your application. This is because it is usually in the child’s best interests to have continuity of teaching and learning in the same school. 

It can be more difficult to transfer into a preferred school in-year as schools may be full or availability may be limited in some year groups. There is no guarantee that siblings will be able to attend the same school. 

We will be in contact with you as soon as we can confirm a school place for your child, but this may take a number of weeks. Where possible, you should not withdraw your child from their current school until a new place is secured, to limit the time that they spend out of school.

It may take longer for us to provide an outcome for applications to enter school in September. This is because schools have a legal responsibility to ensure that any child who has left their school during the summer break is on roll at another school before a vacancy can be confirmed. Be prepared that if your child is not currently in school, it may be a number of weeks before a school place is allocated, and you will need to make suitable childcare arrangements for your child if appropriate. 

Naming preferred schools

You can name up to four schools on your application including academy or free schools. If you would like to apply for Kingston schools, please do so by completing the Kingston in-year form. If you would like to apply for Richmond schools, please do so by completing the Richmond in-year form. For applications to schools outside of Kingston or Richmond, please contact the Local Authority in which the school is located.

The regulations allow for you to express a preference for a school, but this is not the same as being able to choose which school your child attends. Achieving for Children and the schools are committed to meeting parental preference where places are available, but you must be realistic when deciding your preferences.

You may not receive an offer at any of your preferred schools if your child is unlikely to qualify for a place. This could happen if you live too far away from the schools or if you name a church school but do not have priority under the faith criterion.

Certain schools need additional information to apply their admissions criteria and may require you to also complete a Supplementary Information Form. For example, schools that prioritise applications by faith. If you are applying for this type of school, please check the school's website for further information and to download a Supplementary Information Form. The form must be returned directly to the school. 

It is important that you name the schools in the order that you most prefer them. This is because your child could qualify for a place at more than one school. If this happens, your home council will look at your order of preference and you will be offered the highest preferred school that your child has qualified for.

Admission criteria

If there are more applications received than there are places available, a school will use its published oversubscription criteria (rules) to work out which children have priority and can be offered places. The criteria for each borough’s primary, infant and junior schools is summarised in the relevant school information brochure, and is published in full on the individual schools’ websites. It is your responsibility to familiarise yourself with how your preferred schools prioritise applications.

Each school that you name as a preference will consider your child's application against its admissions criteria only. Schools are not told your order of preference as this is confidential. 

For example, an application from a parent who has listed the school as a fourth preference is treated in the same way as an application where the school is listed as a first preference. The preference order is only considered when your child has a potential offer for more than one school, and this is when the highest possible preference offer will be made.

Assessment of the home address for admission purposes

Achieving for Children is committed to following strict address verification procedures to ensure that only entitled pupils are offered places.

All applications are subject to the same robust address checking process. We will withdraw an offer if it was made as a result of fraudulent or intentionally misleading information, even if your child has started school. 

It is your responsibility to read the child’s home address policy which is published in full in the admissions brochure. This includes information about applying for a  child who lives between two properties under a joint care arrangement. 

Your application must be made from a single address, and only a single application can be made for a child. The address you provide on your application must be where you are physically living with your child at the time the application is submitted. It is expected that you and your child will continue to live at the address used on your application until they start at their allocated school. 

Making an application

If you would like to apply for a Kingston school, please refer to the ‘Applying for Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames state-funded schools’ section below. If you would like to apply for a Richmond school, please refer to the ‘Applying for London Borough of Richmond upon Thames state-funded schools’ section below. 

In these sections you will find the in-year transfer brochure, information about the schools in the borough, and the primary and secondary in-year transfer application forms.

The in-year transfer brochure provides information on the application process and your responsibilities as the applicant. Please make sure you read this before making your application to avoid any delays to the processing of your request. 

You must apply for a place in the year group indicated by the birth date ranges in the table below. If you would like to request for your child to be educated outside of their chronological age group, this should be discussed with the Headteacher of your allocated school after an offer has been made.

Date of birth ranges for the academic year September 2023 to August 2024

Waiting lists

Your child will automatically be added to the waiting list for a higher preferred school where an offer could not be made. 

Waiting list positions are held in the priority order of the school’s oversubscription criteria, and must be re-ranked each time a new application is received. Your child’s position on the list may go down as well as up. Your child will not get any additional priority on the list if they are currently out of school. 

Waiting lists for the academic year 2023/24 will be disbanded at the end of June 2024. You must make an in-year transfer application no sooner than June 2024 for your child’s name to be added to the waiting list for the academic year 2024/25.

Sixth form admissions

Please note that admission into sixth form is not coordinated by the School Admissions Team. For further information please visit Post 16 Education, Training and Employment.

Applying for Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames state-funded schools

• Admission to a Kingston school as an in-year transfer brochure
• Kingston's infant, junior, primary and secondary schools brochure
• Primary in-year application form 2023/24
• Secondary in-year application form 2023/24

Applying for London Borough of Richmond upon Thames state-funded schools

• Admission to a Richmond school as an in-year transfer brochure
• Richmond's infant, junior, primary and secondary schools brochure
• Primary in-year application form 2023/24
• Secondary in-year application form 2023/24