Guides · 2026-10-21

Nottinghamshire secondary school applications close on 31 October: what to check before you apply

The closing date for Nottinghamshire secondary school applications for September 2027 is Saturday 31 October 2026. Here are the key dates, what catchment does and does not guarantee, and how much school choice there is around the main towns.

If your child is in Year 6, the deadline to apply for a Nottinghamshire secondary school place for September 2027 is Saturday 31 October 2026. If you are also thinking about moving, the address you apply from matters, so it is worth looking at the area as closely as the school.

The dates that matter

• Applications opened on Monday 3 August 2026.
• The national closing date is Saturday 31 October 2026. Any supporting information, including special circumstances, is due by the same date.
• Monday 23 November 2026 is the last date for exceptional late applications and changes of preference to reach the council so it can decide whether they can be treated as on time.
• Offers are made on 1 March 2027.

These are Nottinghamshire County Council's dates for its coordinated scheme. If you live in the City of Nottingham, the city council runs admissions for its own area, so check its school admissions pages for the city's process.

Catchment helps, but it is not a promise

Every community and voluntary controlled school in Nottinghamshire has a designated catchment area, and children who live in it get higher priority if the school is oversubscribed. The council is clear that living in a catchment does not guarantee a place. Academies, voluntary aided and free schools set their own rules, and some do not use catchment at all, so read the admission criteria for every school you put down.

How much choice is nearby

If you are weighing up where to live, a useful first question is how many schools are within reach at all. Here is the count of open schools of all phases within about 3 km of some of the county's main towns, with bus stops within a 10-minute walk for the journey to school.

A count tells you how much choice there is, not how good a school is or whether you would get a place. A town with plenty of schools in range gives you more options than one with a single sought-after school, but always check each school's criteria and its latest Ofsted report.

Schools around Arnold · Schools around Southwell · How to judge schools now Ofsted no longer gives one-word grades · Compare places against your own priorities

Key dates and catchment rules from Nottinghamshire County Council's school admissions pages (key dates for the 2027 to 2028 coordinated scheme and school catchment areas), read 21 October 2026. School counts from Get Information about Schools (DfE) and bus stops from NaPTAN (DfT), as published on PlaceFit's area pages on 21 October 2026, measured within about 3 km and 800 m of each place's centre. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.