Parents of children who live in Nottingham City and who are due to start secondary school in September 2019 have just two weeks left to apply for their places.

Applications for pupils going into Year 7 – for children born between 1 September 2007 and 31 August 2008 – can be made online until the closing date of 31 October 2018.

The Admissions Team treats applications made after this time as late; they have lower priority for places than those made before the deadline.

Councillor Neghat Khan, Portfolio Holder for Education and Skills at Nottingham City Council, said: “Parents and carers can help us by ensuring they get their application in before the 31 October deadline in order to make the opening round of admissions, giving them the best chance of getting the school they want.”

The process is simple and all of the instructions and the form are available at https://www.nottinghamcity.gov.uk/education-and-schools/school-admissions/transfer-to-secondary-school-in-year-7.

Parents and carers are strongly advised to make four preferences, and this should include the school that they will meet the highest criteria for, i.e. if they live in the catchment area of a school. Otherwise, if they are not successful in their preferences then a place may be allocated at a school that may not have been previously considered.

A decision is on all on-time applications on National Offer Day, which for secondary schools is 1 March 2019.