Apply for a secondary school admission
Year 7 applications for entry in September 2026.
Children born between 1 September 2014 and 31 August 2015 should start secondary school in September 2026.
The deadline for on-time applications for a secondary school place in Year 7 in September 2026 was 31 October 2025 and has now passed.
If you are a Slough resident and you have missed the deadline you can still apply by completing the school admissions late application form for secondary school admissions for Septermber 2026 intake.
Parents must apply to the local authority where their child permanently resides (where you pay council tax for, which is the property you and your child live in), even if they wish to list schools in other areas. Check if your home address is in Slough by using GOV.UK’s Find your local council page.
Please note: any applications submitted after 31 October 2025 will only be reviewed from 2 March 2026, once all on-time applications have been reviewed and the first round of offers have been made to them.
Key secondary school admission dates
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 1 September 2025 | Online applications open |
| 31 October 2025 | National deadline to submit your child’s application |
| 2 March 2026 | National offer day for on-time applicants |
Before you apply
- Go through the Secondary School Admissions Booklet 2026/27.
- Attend school open days or evenings at the schools you are interested in and check each school’s website for dates and times.
- Check the admission criteria for the schools you choose to understand how your child’s application will be considered; check each school’s website for details.
- Check if you need a Supplementary Information Form (SIF) to meet certain admissions criteria for a preferred school. Some schools such as faith schools require a SIF in addition to Slough Borough Council’s online application form. Return completed SIFs directly to the relevant school(s).
- For grammar schools: your child must take the 11+ entrance exam and reach the required minimum mark. Slough’s 11+ process is overseen by the Slough Consortium of Grammar Schools and is entirely independent from Slough Borough Council. Please visit the grammar school’s websites for guidance and key dates.
- Plan your child’s travel to school and consider how they will get to and from school each day.
Apply for secondary school admission - late application form