Apply for an infant or primary (reception or foundation) school place

Applying for an infant/primary school place to start in September 2021

REC banner.jpg

Coronavirus (COVID-19) update

Due to Coronavirus (COVID-19) measures, the school admission team will be working off site.

All paper application forms are suspended until further notice.

If you have any problems completing the online form please contact us on 01752 307469 (line open 11am to 3pm) or email school.admissions@plymouth.gov.uk.

If you live in Plymouth and your child was born between 01 September 2016 and 31 August 2017, you can apply online for a primary or infant reception/foundation school place for your child from 23.59 on 1 November 2020.

Once you have created an account through the Citizen Portal, you can apply for up to three schools (your first, second and third preference).

Some schools also ask you to complete additional supplementary information forms. For example the standard application form doesn't ask about faith so faith schools may ask you about this on a supplementary information form.

You may also need to complete a supplementary information form if you're applying for a school in Plymouth and you are a member of staff at the school or are in receipt of pupil premium - please read the admission criteria in the Starting School guide below.

Step 1

Find the three schools you're interested in. Our find a school section shows details of the schools in Plymouth and gives links to their websites. If you are interested in schools outside of Plymouth, you will need to look at their individual websites.

Read the relevant admission criteria for each school. All of the information you need including the timetable for application, school admission criteria and school contact details (for Plymouth schools) are in the booklet below:

Starting Primary & Junior School in Plymouth 2021/2022 - A guide for parents

Step 2

You can register online and apply for a school place through the Citizen Portal. Please remember the password you create as you'll need this every time that you log into the portal. Once you have registered, you'll receive an email confirmation of registration.

You can apply online between 2 November 2020 and 15 January 2021. When you apply for a school place, you'll receive a confirmation email. Please keep this email.

Apply for a school place.

Apply for a school place on the Citizen Portal

The above portal is now closed

If you are applying for a Reception school place for September 2021 after the 15 January 2021, please click on the "Apply for a school place" button below.

Only use this form if your child's date of birth falls between 01/09/2016 - 31/08/2017.

Apply for a school Place

DO NOT USE THE FORM BELOW IF YOU ARE TRANSFERING YOUR CHILD BETWEEN SCHOOLS - Please see our In-Year Admissions webpage for further information.

Common Application Form

Citizens Portal guidance

Registration process for the Citizen Portal [PDF, 588KB]

Application process for the Citizen Portal [PDF, 869KB]

Supplementary forms

If the school has supplementary forms, you need to print them so that you can complete them:

Early Years, Pupil, or Service Premium - Supplementary Form 2021-2022

Staff Supplementary Information Form 2021-2022

St Andrew's CE Exceptional Need Supplementary Form 2021-2022

St Andrew's CE Faith Supplementary Form 2021-2022

St Andrew's CE Staff Supplementary Form 2021-2022

St Edward's CE Primary School Exceptional Need - Supplementary Form 2021-2022

St Edward's CE Staff Supplementary Form 2021-2022

St George's CE Primary School Exceptional Need - Supplementary Form 2021-2022

St George's CE Faith Supplementary Form 2021-2022

St George's CE Staff Supplementary Form 2021-2022

Plympton St Mary's CE Infant School Exceptional Need - Supplementary Form 2021-2022

Plympton St Mary's CE Infant School Staff Supplementary Form 2021-2022

St Matthew's CE Primary School Exceptional Need - Supplementary Form 2021-2022

St Matthew's CE Primary School Staff Supplementary Form 2021-2022

St Peter's CE Primary School Exceptional Need Supplementary Form 2021-2022.

St Peter's CE Primary School Faith Supplementary Form 2021-2022

Roman Catholic Primary Schools - Supplementary Form 2021-2022

Oreston Community Academy Exceptional Need - Supplementary Form 2021-2022

Oreston Community Academy - Staff Supplementary Form 2021-2022

Step 3

You can go back into your account any time up until the close date to amend your application. If you do this, please remember to re-submit your application and to make sure that you keep the confirmation email.

We will notify you of your child's allocation on Friday 16 April 2021 to tell you which school your child has been allocated. If you applied online you'll receive an email on 16 April 2021 to tell you the allocation. You can also sign back into your online account on that date to view the allocation. If you applied by paper, and did not request to be informed via email, we will post a letter to you on 16 April 2021 - that means that you will not receive the letter until after this date.

Once you receive the allocation, you need to tell us whether or not you wish to accept the place.

For any school that you ranked higher than the one we allocated, your child will automatically be placed on the waiting list and will be considered if a vacancy comes up. You will also have the right of appeal to an independent panel against any school place refusal.

Email primary.admissions@plymouth.gov.uk for further information about choosing and applying for schools.