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.
About our primary schools
Islington’s primary schools have a lot to be proud of - 95% of them were rated as good or excellent by Ofsted before the rules changed in September 2024.
Islington primary school children (Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2) did better than children in other parts of the country in every subject in 2024. Children with special educational needs and disabilities also did really well in reading, writing and maths, with more children achieving the expected standards compared to children in other parts of the country.
Our vision is for our schools to continue to improve by having great leaders, high standards and fun, creative lessons.
Apply for a primary school place
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.
