Every child in England is entitled to a free education, and every child resident in Cambridge will be offered a school place*.
The Admissions Team in the Cambridgeshire County Council is your key resource when enrolling your daughter and/or son in a Cambridgeshire state funded primary and/or secondary school. The County's webpages have all the information you will need including comprehensive admission booklets.
Highlighted below are a number of important points to assist you in the process:
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Key Ages:
- In England you are required by law to make sure your child begins education from the beginning of school term after he or she turns 5 years old. However, children normally start Reception class in a state school from the September after their 4th birthday.
- Primary schools take children from ages 4–11. Secondary schools take children from 11–16. If a secondary school has an attached Sixth Form for studies in Year 12 and 13, they will accept children that choose to stay on beyond the age of 16.
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Allocation of places
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Your child is given priority for a place in your catchment area state school (i.e. the age-appropriate school in the area where you live) as long as there is a vacancy. You can use the My Cambridgeshire service to look up catchment area schools for your address.
- You will be required to provide evidence of a local permanent address for your child when you apply.
- There are a number of key deadline dates that you will need to meet for successful enrolment. These are clearly stated on the Cambridgeshire County Council webpages (above).
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Non- EEA Visitors
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If a child has entered the UK for the purpose of accompanying their non-EEA parent who is a visiting academic on sabbatical leave and undertaking research for up to 12 months in the UK, then the child is eligible to attend a state maintained school. The Cambridgeshire School Admission Team indicate that there are three conditions which are that the child must be:
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Between the age of 4 and 16;
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Resident in Cambridgeshire for six teaching weeks or longer; and
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Free from immigration restrictions that prevent them attending a State school (which will be the case if the non-EEA visiting academic obtains a 12 month visitor visa in advance of coming to the UK)
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Overseas students/visitors
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You may also be asked for a copy of your child's passport and entry visa to check permission to stay in the country.
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Your child will need to be resident for at least 6 teaching weeks to be eligible for a school place.
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Choosing the right school for your child/ren
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To aid you in your search you may want to browse Ofsted's Inspection reports. For more information please go here.
- The Department for Education publishes school and college performance tables.
- Here at the childcare office we have a feedback file, which holds feedback from staff, students and visiting scholars of the University on amongst other things local schools. Please contact us for more information.
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6. Support with choosing a school
Deciding which school you would prefer your child to attend is a very important decision.
Cambridgeshire County Council's Parents' School Preference Adviser can help you understand the system and make informed decisions when choosing a school.
The Parents' School Preference Adviser provides advice and information on choosing a school, how to apply and the appeals process.
They can help with information and advice on:
- how the transfer and admissions process works
- admission policies and criteria for different schools
- provision for special educational needs
- changing schools during the school year
- the appeals process
- travel issues
The website is here.