Year 3 Junior School Applications 2027: Infant to Junior Transfer Needs a New Application

Your child is in Year 2 at an infant school, and you assume they will walk next door to the junior school in September. They won't have a place there unless you apply. An infant to junior school transfer is a fresh admissions decision, and the closing date is 15 January 2027.

This post explains who needs to apply, how the process works, and how to read last distance offered figures for junior schools. It covers England only. Other UK nations run their own systems and dates.

If your child's infant school is separate from the junior school, yes, you need to apply. The School Admissions Code says published admission arrangements must make clear that moving from infant to junior school needs a separate application. An infant school (Reception to Year 2) and a junior school (Year 3 to Year 6) are separate schools, even where they share a name or a site.

Some junior schools give priority to children at a named infant school, known as a feeder school (Code paragraph 1.15). Never rely on assumptions, a friend's experience from another area, or a comment from a teacher. Check your council's Year 3 or junior transfer page and the junior school's admission policy.

You apply through your home local authority, even if the junior school you want is in a different council area. Check your council's admissions page for its online form. Every council must let you name at least three schools, so check how many yours allows.

Schools must not give extra priority because of where you ranked them (Code paragraph 1.9). If you could be offered more than one of your preferences, the council offers the one you ranked highest (paragraph 2.11). List schools in your true order of preference.

Some schools also ask for a supplementary information form, where they need more information to apply their oversubscription criteria (Code paragraph 2.4). Check each school's arrangements for where to send it and by when.

Admissions follow the School Admissions Code 2021 (England). A child whose EHC plan names the school must be admitted (Code paragraph 1.6). Infant to junior school is a phase transfer, so the council must review the plan, and amend it where needed, before 15 February 2027 (SEND Regulations 2014, regulation 18). Speak to your council's SEN team about timings, and see our SEND rights and processes guide.

When a junior school has more applicants than places, it applies its published oversubscription criteria in order. Looked after and previously looked after children must come first, unless the Code provides otherwise (paragraph 1.7). Other criteria can include siblings, a named feeder infant school, catchment area, faith (at a faith school) and distance from home. The order matters. A linked-infant priority placed above distance can take many places before distance is applied.

For more on how priority areas work, see our guide to catchment areas and transport. For faith criteria, see faith school admissions.

Last distance offered is how far from the school the last child offered a place on national offer day lived, as the council or school published it. School Atlas holds published Year 3 figures, year by year, for over 300 schools in 34 council areas. Coverage varies by council.

These figures need care at junior schools. If many places go to children from a linked infant school before distance is applied, the figure may describe only the places left for other applicants. Look at the school's oversubscription order and whether your child falls into a higher category.

Remember also that a last distance offered figure is not a catchment boundary. Where a school admits by distance, the furthest place offered can move from year to year with the number and location of applicants. Last year's distance is evidence, not a promise.

The admissions distance checker covers each school's main entry year, which is Year 3 at junior schools. For the schools near a postcode, it shows where published whether the postcode is inside a council's catchment boundary and how its distance compares with the newest furthest place offered we hold, with its year. It is free with an account for the three nearest schools with an offer distance or catchment map, for one postcode a day. Pro shows every open school within the distance you pick, up to 5 miles for primary, for any postcode. It never gives a percentage chance. Pro's figure for how often families in your position were offered a place covers Reception and Year 7 only, not Year 3.

Offers are made on national offer day, 16 April 2027. If you are refused a place, you can accept the school offered, join the waiting list and appeal. They are not mutually exclusive. For the normal admissions round, waiting lists must stay open at least until 31 December of the year of admission (School Admissions Code 2021, paragraph 2.15). Waiting list order is set by the school's oversubscription criteria, not by when you joined.

On appeals, note a key distinction. The 30-pupil infant class size limit applies to Reception, Year 1 and Year 2. Where a place in those years is refused because of that limit, the appeal is an infant class size appeal, which can only succeed on three narrow grounds. A Year 3 appeal at a junior school is not an infant class size appeal. It follows the School Admission Appeals Code 2022 and has two stages. First, the panel considers whether the arrangements were lawful and correctly and impartially applied, and whether admitting more children would prejudice efficient education or the efficient use of resources. Second, it balances your case for the school against any prejudice. Our school admissions appeals guide explains the process.

Start by confirming with your council whether your child needs to apply. Then read the admission policy of each junior school you are considering, and look at the published history for each in the admissions distance checker. To find schools near you, use explore schools. To plan your dates through to offer day, try the school timeline tool.

If a refusal feels possible, the admissions appeal quiz can help you think through your position before you need it.