You can find details of the admissions criteria for community primary schools on this page. We use these criteria to decide on admission to primary schools in Lewisham.
See the
starting school booklet or the Primary School A-Z for the admissions policies of voluntary aided primary schools in the borough.
Community schools admission policy
Some schools are able to admit all children whose parents express a preference for a place at that school.
If more parents want places for their children than it is possible to provide in that year, the local authority, who decide on admission to the schools, will give priority in the following order to:
- children in public care (details to be supplied by the allocated social worker or foster carer). A looked after child is a child who is in care to a local authority or who is provided with accommodation by that authority.
- in exceptional circumstances there is discretion to admit children on the grounds of their or their family’s acute medical or social need for that particular school and who would not otherwise qualify for admission. The application must be supported by a letter from a hospital consultant, social worker or similar professional, setting out the reasons why the school is the only one able to meet the child’s needs. The admission decision will be considered in consultation with sub-groups of the Admissions Forum, which includes teaching and medical professionals. Medical professionals provide advice on applications made under medical conditions and teaching professionals advise on applications made for social or special reasons. Supporting evidence must be provided before the closing date for applications.
- children whose brother or sister are on the roll of the school on the closing date for applications and is expected to be on the roll of the school, or of the junior school in the case of separate infant and junior schools, at the intended date of admission. If the school is oversubscribed entirely with siblings, priority will be given to those living nearest and to those with exceptional social and medical need; siblings include all blood or adoptive siblings or half-siblings, and foster or step siblings. Siblings must all be living at the same address as the child. Proof of the sibling relationship may be required.
- children for whom it is the nearest community school (priority within this category will normally be given to those living nearest to the school but other children living further away may have to be given preference if they cannot reasonably be offered an alternative school).
- if, after these criteria have been taken into account, there are still more applicants than places remaining, priority will be given to those living nearest to the school.
Home-to-school distance
All distances will be measured in a straight line, using digitised mapping software or Ordnance Survey maps of the area, from home to the nearest gate(s) nominated by the school.
If more than one applicant lives in a multi-occupancy building, e.g. flats, priority will be given to the applicant whose door number is the lowest numerically and/or alphabetically.
You can use electronic tools such as our find your nearest school pages, or Up My Street (follow the link on the right) to get an estimate of the distance between your home and local schools.
Important note: you should only use these tools as a guide, as they are not as accurate as the measuring system that we use.
Proof of home address
Proof of permanent home address will be required and will include current council tax statements, utility bills, residence orders or court orders. In some circumstances Lewisham Authority will rely on other information held or accessed by the Council to confirm the permanent home address.
Important note: if a false address has been given and an offer made on the basis of that information, the offer of the place may be withdrawn.