St Mary's Catholic Primary School

Admissions

Appllication Process for new intake September 2026

There is a major change to the Admission to Reception Process for September 2026, for families that live in the BCP area, that you need to be aware of. The application process for BCP residents will now open from Saturday 01 November 2025. This has changed to give parents more time to decide on the right school for their child before the applications open. The closing date is Thursday 15 January 2026.

For families resident in the BCP area, parents can apply online via the Parent Portal at

 https://bcp.cloud.servelec-synergy.com/Synergy/ApplyforaSchoolPlace.aspx  

from 01 November 2025 (please note this a new link as the Parent Portal has recently been updated and the previous link will no longer work). 

Parents who are having difficulty applying through the BCP Portal can contact the Admissions Team on 01202-123222 / 127963 in the first instance, and BCP staff will talk them through the system. Paper application forms can also be obtained directly from the Admissions Team after 01 November 2025

Key dates for Children Starting primary school in September 2026:

1 September 2025 – Information on the application process made available

1 November 2025  – 15 January 2026 - Parents to submit applications

15 January 2026  – National closing date for applications

16 April 2026  – Offers made to on time applicants

1 May 2026  – Deadline for parents to respond to offer of places made on 16 April 2026

14 May 2026  – Offers made to late applicants (for applications received between 16 January 2026 and 6 February 2026)

28 May 2026  – Closing date for parents to accept offer of places made on 14 May 2026

Summer term 2026  – Appeal hearings

September 2026  – Start at primary, infant or first school

You must apply to the local authority where you live, even if the schools you are applying for are in another area.

Your local authority will let you know the outcome.

Late applications cannot be submitted online. You can download our application form to post or email to school.admissions@bcpcouncil.gov.uk

If you are a resident outside of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole then you should contact your local council for details of how to apply:

The School's Admission policies and Supplementary Information Forms (SIFs) can be found below.

Completed Supplementary Information Forms (SIFs) need to be returned to the school directly by the closing date of 15 January 2025. 

If you wish to contact the BCP Council School Admissions Team, please call 01202 127963 or email school.admissions@bcpcouncil.gov.uk

Appeals

Please find below the link to (devon.gov.uk) the guide to appeals for admissions to our school:

https://www.devon.gov.uk/educationandfamilies/guide/guide-to-school-admission-appeals/

 When are appeals held?

 Appeal hearings are held during the working day. They are not held at weekends, in the evening or (usually) during the school holidays.
 
Generally, we cannot accommodate working patterns and therefore you may need to book time off work. If you know that you cannot attend an appeal on certain dates (for example, you are on holiday) please include this information on the appeal form. If possible, we will try to avoid hearing your appeal on these dates.
 
Appeal hearings are usually held remotely via Microsoft Teams. They could also be heard at the Council offices on Topsham Road in Exeter, or at other external venues.
 
You will receive email notification of the date, time and arrangements for your hearing no later than 14 calendar days before the hearing. The notification will include the school’s submission and a deadline for the submission of any further evidence you may wish to provide other than that already included with your initial appeal form.
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