Apply for a primary school place
If your child is due to start primary school and lives in Islington, you must apply online.
Apply for primary school place
If your child is due to start primary school and lives in Islington, you must apply online.
Apply for a primary school place
Islington’s primary schools have a lot to be proud of, with 95% of them being judged as good or outstanding by Ofsted What’s more, Islington pupils outperformed their peers nationally in every subject at both Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2 in 2023. In addition, pupils with special educational needs and disabilities achieved particularly well at Key Stage 2, with a much higher proportion achieving the expected standard in reading, writing and maths than similar pupils nationally. Our ambition is for local schools to continue to improve through strong leadership, rigorous standards and creative teaching.
You can apply for up to six schools. We recommend you apply for six, if possible. Applying for only one or two schools might mean your child does not get a place at all.
Don’t include private schools in your application.
You'll find lots of useful information in our primary school admissions guide.
When your child should start school
We’ll offer your child a full-time school place for the start of the school year when they turn five. All children must start reception by the term following their fifth birthday. If you think your child won’t be ready for school in September, they can start one or two terms later, depending on their birthday.
If your child was born between 1 April and 31 August, you can ask to delay their start in reception class until the following year if you feel they are not ready to start school. To do so, please complete the Request to Delay Admission to Reception Class online form. If we agree to delay your child’s admission to reception class, you will need to apply again next year. At secondary transfer, all Islington secondary schools have agreed to admit delayed summer born children to Year 7 without the need to reapply for delayed admission.
For more information, contact the School Admissions team at admissions@islington.gov.uk as soon as possible.
