Co-ordinated secondary admission arrangements
The Local Authority co-ordinates the admission arrangements for all schools within its area in the normal admissions round. This involves receiving all applications and informing parents/carers which school place has been allocated.
Co-ordination establishes a mechanism that ensures that, as far as practical, every child living in a local authority area who has applied in the normal admissions round receives one and only one offer of a school place on the same day.
Pupils transferring to Secondary school in September 2026/27
Children who were born between 1 September 2014 and 31 August 2015 will transfer to secondary school in September 2026.
Parents/carers have a right to express a preference for a secondary school(s) they prefer but there is no guarantee that a place can be allocated at one of them.
Do you live in Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council area?
- YES - Then you must apply on the Redcar and Cleveland Secondary Application Form. No matter which secondary schools you are interested in, whether located in the Borough of Redcar or in another local authority area.
- NO - If you don't live in Redcar and Cleveland then you must apply on the application form supplied by the local authority area that you live in.
How to apply
The online portal opens on 5 September 2025.
The easiest way to apply is to complete the online application form. If you do not have access to the internet, then an application form can be obtained from the Schools Admissions Team by emailing schoolsadmissions@redcar-cleveland.gov.uk or the following link
Paper forms should be returned directly to the School Admissions Team by 31 October 2025. It is important that you read the guide below in conjunction with your application.
Roman Catholic Applications
Parents are also advised to complete the relevant supplementary forms when applying for either Sacred Heart Roman Catholic Secondary Academy or St Peters Roman Catholic College to support their main application.
Paper forms should be returned directly to the School Admissions Team by 31 October 2025. It is important that you read the guide below in conjunction with your application.
Applications received after the deadline of 31 October 2025 will be classed as late applications and will therefore be considered after all on time applications.
Where applications are submitted after 31 October where there are exceptional circumstances, i.e. house move these applications may be considered up to and including 16th January 2026.
In these instances, the school admissions section would consider the reason for late application and in conjunction with the preference school make a decision as to how the application would be processed.
Please return the completed form to the Schools Admissions Team by emailing schoolsAdmissions@redcar-cleveland.gov.uk.
Where a family are considering moving into the Redcar and Cleveland area and wish to apply for schools within the borough the application should be made through the current home Local Authority.
The Home Local Authority would therefore co-ordinate with Redcar and Cleveland School Admissions Team on the processing of the application.
As a child's home address is used in the school allocation process. The child’s permanent residency would need to be verified before being used in the Admission Process.
To verify proof of Residency the following 3 documents are required:
One of these documents must be either:
- Child Benefit or Child Tax Credit Office evidence showing your new address and confirming (pupil) details to show they are resident in the property.
- Any NHS evidence showing the new address and the child’s details: GP’S Letter, Hospital Letter, Doctors or Dentist confirmation etc.
Plus, two from the following list:
- A solicitor’s letter confirming exchange of contract
- A rent agreement or utility bills, e.g. council tax, gas, electricity etc.
Once the evidence is received the School Admissions Team will make an evidence based decision to verify the child’s residency. If you are unable to provide confirmation of your new address, it may affect the processing of your application which could affect the final school place offer for your child.
Expressing your preference of school
The law allows parents/carers to express a preference for the school(s) they wish their child to attend but must do so on the application form for their local 'home' authority. All local authorities coordinate with each other for applications received for schools in their authority area.
Parents can name up to three schools that they would like their child to attend. Name the schools in a ranked order – your highest preference is number 1.
You can name schools in Redcar and Cleveland and if you wish those in other local authority areas. If naming schools outside Redcar and Cleveland, it is strongly recommended that you obtain the information guide from the relevant authority.
You need to find out about their co-ordinated scheme and the details about the schools(s) you are interested in. It's in your best interests to put 3 school preferences on your application to maximise the chance of your child being offered a place at one of your preferred schools.
If we are unable to offer one of your preferred schools a place would be offered at the nearest school with a place available. This school may be some distance from your home address and therefore parents are encouraged to include their catchment school or local school as one of their 3 preferences.
The relevant admissions criteria will be applied to all schools that are oversubscribed by the Admissions Authority of the school(s) requested.
Before you make your final decision, you are strongly advised to read the Local Authority's Secondary Admissions Guide for Parents. Parents should also consider other important factors such as individual school policies i.e. attendance, uniform, behaviour etc.
Parents should also give consideration any transport implications for your child to attend the preferred school– please see the council’s Transport policy and guidance available below:
Further information can found on our School transport services page
Attending the school open evenings and meeting the Head Teacher and staff may assist you in also making an informed decision on which school meets your child’s needs. The Head teacher cannot offer your child a place or guarantee that a place will be available at the school.
Each school will hold open evenings during the application process.
Offer process
The national offer date is 1 March each year or the next working day if it falls on a weekend or bank holiday. Parents will have an initial 14 school days to respond to the offer to accept/decline the school place offered. You are required to reply to the offer by 20 March 2026.
If the application is completed using the citizen portal an email will be sent to the registered email address (if requested) on the 1 March. If you apply using a paper application, a letter will be posted 2nd class to the child’s registered home address.
If you do not respond the Local Authority may then look to withdraw the offer.
For any enquiries regarding the process, contact the team by emailing schoolsadmissions@redcar-cleveland.gov.uk