The torture of finding school places for newcomers to London

Doe-eyed and mouths agape, the children looked horrified as I broke the news. “Six weeks,” I repeated. “That’s all they get for school summer holidays in England.”

To little ears, this sounded sadistic compared with the more-than-eight-week break at Irish primary level and the epic 12 weeks at secondary. In such circumstances, the novelty of a prospective move to London can easily lose a little of its lustre.

Relocating with a young family, even if it’s only to the nation next door, comes with myriad bureaucratic challenges. Strikingly different health, tax and banking systems all must be negotiated. But the torture of finding suitable school places sits on top of this steaming pile of administrative drudgery.

Outside of the south Dublin bubble and the middle classes generally, the question of where to school your kids in the Republic tends to be easy. They go to the closest one to your house. In England, and especially in London, it is more complicated. Few things exercise young parents here like the rat race for the best school places.

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The system can seem bewildering to Irish eyes. At its most basic, it is, like home, broken into primary and secondary education. State schools are free and private schools, more commonly known as independent schools (or sometimes “public” schools) are fee paying. That is where the similarities with the Irish system end.

Primary schools cater for children aged five to 10 or 11, and run from Year 1 (commonly called reception year) to Year 6. Secondary schools are for ages 11 to 16 and run from Year 7 to Year 11. If your child goes on to do A-levels, necessary to get into university, this is usually over two extra years, 12 and 13. This can be done at most normal secondary schools, but it can also be done at a separate sixth form college.

Confusingly, several other types of school overlap the primary-secondary system. For example, primary can be split between first, junior and middle schools, which span into secondary education and can cater for kids up to 13 or 14. For the wealthier in London, fee-paying preparatory schools that span primary to secondary are popular, and are often used as feeder routes into the best secondary schools. Expect to pay £30,000 (about €35,000) per year for a top prep school.

Beyond this, most schools fall into categories depending upon how they are administered. Community schools follow the state curriculum, are non fee-paying and coeducational, and are overseen by the local council. Faith schools can also be non fee-paying but are also overseen by voluntary bodies, who run admissions policy and ethos.

Some other secondary schools are known as academies or “free schools”, and can deviate from the state curriculum and run their own admissions entirely. Grammar schools are ability-based and set tests for entry. They are highly coveted.

For immigrants, once you’ve popped your eyes back into their sockets at the range of it all and settled on the type most suitable for your child – and your wallet – then you must get them in. Schools are inspected and graded by the state body Ofsted. Those ranked “outstanding” have the most competition.

For entry into Year 1 or 7, the process is fairly straightforward. For state schools where admissions are overseen by local councils, the 33 London boroughs plus Surrey council run a common eAdmissions platform. Just give proof of address (popular schools whittle down applicants into tiny catchment areas) and pick a few options in order of preference. Offers are made annually in April (a bit like the Irish CAO system at third level).

Faith schools add an extra layer to the admissions criteria, and parallel applications are required. For example in many Catholic schools (often also academically superior), written evidence of regular Mass attendance is essential. This can be a references from a parish priest, but many parishes also keep weekly written records of Mass attendance for families of prospective pupils. You see parents each Sunday lining up after Mass to fill in forms proving they were there. Attendance is totted up when the school application goes in.

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If (like many families relocating from abroad) your child needs to enter a school year other than Year 1 or 7, you must make an “in-year” application to the local council, or direct to the school if it is an academy or fee-paying. If it is a faith school, you must apply to both the local council and the school, complete with religious documentation.

The in-year application process is messy and badly run. If you live near the border of two boroughs and fall within the catchment area of schools in both, nobody seems to know whether you apply to the borough council where you live or the one for the school. So you do both to make sure.

Brexit, followed by the pandemic, had few upsides for immigrants. But both have helped to cool competition for London school places as workers fled the city. A recent local government report predicted numbers attending London schools will fall about 7 per cent between 2021 and 2026. That should free up more places and, hopefully, make the application process a little easier.