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What order should I put schools on the application form?

Put schools in the order you genuinely prefer them. This planner explains the rules and flags when you have no fallback you feel confident about.

  • September 2027 entry
  • Advice only: no chances are predicted

The short answer

Rank schools in your genuine order of preference, grammar schools included, whether or not you know the 11+ result yet. Admissions in England use equal preference: each school ranks applications by its own published rules and cannot favour a child because of where the parents ranked it. Your council then offers the highest school on your list that has a place for your child.

So there is no tactical order. Include schools you would be happy with and check each one's published priority rules before relying on a place.

Plan your order

Add the grammar schools and other schools you are considering, say whether each 11+ result is known and whether you live in each priority area, and the planner reviews your genuine preference order. It works in your browser and nothing you enter is sent anywhere.

What this planner does not do

It does not estimate your chance of a place at any school. That depends on how many children apply, their scores and where they live, which nobody knows until offer day. Read each school's admission arrangements for its oversubscription rules.

The rules behind the advice

  1. 1

    Schools must not give extra priority because of the order in which parents rank them. Each school ranks applications against its published admissions criteria. Your preference order does not change that ranking; it determines which offer the council makes if more than one preferred school has a place for your child.

    School Admissions Code 2021, paragraph 1.9(c)

    Checked 24 October 2026. Source: Department for Education, School Admissions Code (opens in a new tab)

  2. 2

    Your council collects every school's decision. If more than one of your schools could offer a place, you are offered the one you ranked highest, and you receive one offer on National Offer Day.

    School Admissions Code 2021, paragraphs 15(e) and 2.11

    Checked 24 October 2026. Source: Department for Education, School Admissions Code (opens in a new tab)

  3. 3

    You apply to the council where you live, and you can name at least three schools; many councils allow more. You can include state schools in other council areas on the same form.

    School Admissions Code 2021, paragraph 15(d)

    Checked 24 October 2026. Source: Department for Education, School Admissions Code (opens in a new tab)

  4. 4

    If none of the schools you named can offer a place, the council must offer another school if a place is available. This can be a school you did not name. Contact your council if you have no offer.

    School Admissions Code 2021, paragraph 2.11

    Checked 24 October 2026. Source: Department for Education, School Admissions Code (opens in a new tab)

  5. 5

    You apply for a grammar school place by naming it on your home council's application form, and you should list the schools in your genuine order of preference.

    CSSE Information Guide, 2027 entry, page 13

    Checked 24 October 2026. Source: Consortium of Selective Schools in Essex, CSSE Information Guide: 2027 Entry (opens in a new tab)

  6. 6

    For a normal-round school-place appeal, you need a refusal of an application to that school. Name any school you may want to appeal for on your application. A grammar school may refuse a place if the child has not reached its required standard.

    School Admissions Code 2021, paragraphs 1.18 and 15(f)

    Checked 24 October 2026. Source: Department for Education, School Admissions Code (opens in a new tab)

The deadline

The general secondary application deadline is 31 October (a Saturday this year; check your council's deadline, as some accept applications until the next working day). Check your home council's date.

You apply to the council where you live, even for schools in another area. Its published date controls your application for September 2027 entry.

Some test-route timetables give a different date. These examples may not be your home council's deadline:

  • Kent Test: Kent secondary-school application deadline, 2 November 2026

Checked 24 October 2026. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The School Admissions (Admission Arrangements and Co-ordination of Admission Arrangements) (England) Regulations 2012, Schedule 2 (opens in a new tab); GOV.UK, School admissions: how to apply (opens in a new tab)

Frequently asked questions

Does putting a grammar school first reduce my chances elsewhere?

No. Under the School Admissions Code schools must not give priority based on the order parents rank them, so each school considers your application on its own rules. Your council then offers the highest-ranked school that has a place for your child.

Should I name a grammar school if my child did not qualify?

A school normally cannot offer a place unless your child meets its qualification rules. If you may appeal, check the school's guidance: you usually need to apply and be refused a place first. Listing it does not change how your other schools assess the application.

Does the planner predict my chance of a place?

No. It applies the published rules to what you tell it and checks that you have included a school where you are confident of a place. It makes no estimate of any school's allocation.

Related tools

Not offered a place you wanted? Read what the appeal figures can and cannot tell you.

This is general information, not legal advice. Your council's published scheme and each school's determined admission arrangements are the rules that apply to your application.