Home › Moving to Sussex › School places 2027

West Sussex Primary School Admissions 2027: Key Dates, Offer Day and Moving House

West Sussex primary school admissions 2027 open on 5 October 2026 and close at 11.59pm on Friday 15 January 2027, with offers on Friday 16 April 2027. This page sets out every date in the council's calendar, how places are decided, and what happens if you are moving house in the middle of it, which is where most families moving to Sussex get caught out.

West Sussex primary school admissions 2027: the key dates

These are the dates West Sussex County Council publishes on its key dates page for reception (starting school) and junior school places in September 2027. The same calendar covers primary, infant and junior schools.

Some individual schools quote 15 April for offers on their own pages. Go by the council: its published offer day is Friday 16 April 2027.

Which children apply in this round

This round is for children starting reception in September 2027, which in England means children born between 1 September 2022 and 31 August 2023, plus Year 2 children moving up to a junior school. Children born between 1 April and 31 August are summer-born, and you can ask to delay their start in reception. The council's starting school pages say you should still apply for the normal year group, so your child has a place if the request is not approved.

Two other points catch families out. If your child has an Education, Health and Care Plan, you do not use this form: the Special Educational Needs Assessment Team handles the place. And if you live in England but outside West Sussex, you cannot apply to West Sussex at all. You apply to your own council, naming West Sussex schools as preferences if you want them.

Moving to West Sussex during the admissions round

This is the part that matters most for anyone buying or renting in the county this winter. The rules turn on one date: the address on your application must be your child's permanent address on the closing date, 15 January 2027, even if you plan to move after it.

If you already live in England outside West Sussex

Apply to your current council by 15 January, listing the West Sussex schools you want. Each council coordinates with its neighbours, so a West Sussex school can still be offered through your home council. Once you have moved, tell the West Sussex Pupil Admissions Team your new address in writing.

If you are moving within West Sussex, or into it, before allocation

The council's moving house guidance says it will only use a new address if you send acceptable proof by the house-mover deadline, Friday 12 February 2027. It accepts:

• confirmation of exchange of contracts, if you are buying
• a signed tenancy agreement, if you are renting

A memorandum of sale or proof that you have paid a deposit is not enough. If your exchange slips past 12 February, the council will use your old address to allocate the place and the new one for letters and waiting lists afterwards. That can make a real difference at an oversubscribed school where the tie-break is distance, so if school places are a deciding factor, push your solicitor on the exchange date and keep the timeline in mind when you set completion. Our moving house timeline shows how long each stage usually takes.

If you move after offers come out

If you move within West Sussex after 16 April and before September and want different schools, you make a new application with proof of the new address. The council can only allocate one place per child, so any new offer replaces the one you already hold.

How places are decided

West Sussex uses the equal preference system required by the School Admissions Code. You can name up to three schools in order, but each is treated as a separate application ranked against that school's oversubscription criteria. The order only matters if your child qualifies for more than one, when you are offered the highest. A school is never told where you ranked it.

Criteria differ by school but usually give priority to looked after children, children living in the catchment area, siblings, and (for junior schools) children at the linked infant school. The tie-break is normally straight-line distance from home to school, though some schools use random allocation. Church voluntary-aided schools, academies and foundation schools set their own criteria, which are on their websites.

The council's allocation guidance strongly advises naming your catchment school as one of the three. If none of your preferences can be met and your catchment school has room, you will be offered it. If it is full, you will be offered the nearest school with a place, which could be some way off.

Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 classes have a legal limit of 30 pupils per teacher. The starting school booklet lists each school's published admission number and last year's allocation figures, which show how far out places went. Check those before you commit to a house on the strength of a school.

A checklist for families moving in

1. Find the catchment school for the address you are buying or renting, using the council's catchment search.
2. Read last year's allocation statistics in the Starting School 2027 booklet for each school you like.
3. Apply online by 11.59pm on 15 January 2027, naming three schools, one of them your catchment school.
4. If you are moving into or within the county, send exchange or tenancy proof to the Pupil Admissions Team by 12 February 2027.
5. Log in from 7am on 16 April 2027 for your offer, and accept or decline it.
6. If you are refused a school, ask to go on its waiting list and consider an appeal, which panels hear from May to August.

Moving to a particular town? Our guides to Horsham, Crawley, Worthing, Chichester and Haywards Heath list the schools in each.

More guides for families moving to the county on the Move Sussex homepage.