About primary admissions

If your child was born between 1 September 2019 and 31 August 2020, your child is due to start primary school in September 2024.

Our school admissions team will provide for the admission of children into the reception year group in September following their fourth birthday. However, a child isn't required to start school until they've reached compulsory school age.

The compulsory school age is set out in section 8 of the Education Act 1996 and The Education (Start of Compulsory School Age) Order 1998. A child reaches compulsory school age on the prescribed day following his/her fifth birthday (or on his/her fifth birthday if it falls on a prescribed day). The prescribed days are 31 December, 31 March and 31 August.

Deferred entry

In accordance with Paragraph 2.17 of the School Admissions Code 2021, families are able to:

  • defer their child’s entry to school until later in the same academic year (but not beyond the point at which the child reaches compulsory school age); or
  • take up their child’s reception place part time in the same academic year, until she/he reaches compulsory school age

For further information on deferring your child's reception place until later in the same academic year, read our policy on deferring entry to primary school (PDF, 259kb).

Admission of children outside of their normal age group

Families with summer born children who have not reached compulsory school age may request to delay their child’s entry to reception until the following academic year.

For further information on how to request to delay a summer born child’s entry to reception until the following academic year, download our policy on the admission of children outside of their normal age group (PDF, 549kb) and request form (PDF, 64kb). Your completed request form must be returned by email as we're no longer accepting documents by post.

For further information, view the Starting primary school in Southwark 2024/25 brochure (PDF, 2.8mb).

Page last updated: 30 August 2023

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