The application and offer process is known as co-ordinated secondary school admissions. It applies to children born between 1 September 2015 and 31 August 2016, who will start at secondary school in September 2027, and to young people already in Year 9 of a secondary school who are applying for a place at a University Technical College or other 14+ provision that admits students into Year 10.

The secondary co-ordinated admissions process

This is a summary of the process:

• From 1 September 2026, parents and carers of pupils who live in the London Borough of Bexley (i.e. if they pay their Council Tax to London Borough of Bexley) can apply for their child’s school place using the Online Admissions Service.
• you should complete only one application form, available online from the Local Authority in whose area you live (your home Local Authority).
• the online application website opens on 1 September 2026. We would like parents to apply online, but paper forms will be available on request from the School Admissions Team
• if you live in the London Borough of Bexley, even if your child attends an independent primary school in Bexley or a primary school outside Bexley, you should apply for a place to the Bexley School Admissions Team
• if you live outside Bexley, whether or not your child attends a Bexley primary school, you should apply through your home Local Authority
• you will be able to visit schools before you decide which schools you prefer. The dates for open days and evenings at Bexley schools can be found by visiting their website or contacting the school. School contact details can be found by visiting Secondary schools in Bexley
• parents who wanted their child to sit Bexley selection test should have registered online by 31 March 2026
• if you wish to enter your child for selection tests for schools outside Bexley, you should apply directly to the Local Authority or school by their specified closing date
• parents will be able lookup their child’s selection test results online in October 2026 (date to be confirmed), so that you know whether your child has been deemed selective before submitting your application
• you should include all schools (apart from private or independent schools) on the application form whether the schools are in Bexley or other areas, and whether they are faith schools, grammar schools, free schools or Academies. You may only submit one application. If you apply online, you can make changes to your application up to 31 October 2026, but please remember to submit your changes.
• Bexley residents can express up to six preferences for schools on the application form
• you should list your preferences in order. All preferences will be considered equally, using each school’s published admission criteria, but the order is important as each child will be offered only one school, this being the highest of the preferences for which he or she qualifies
• if your preferences include an Academy or a voluntary aided (faith) school, you will also need to contact those schools to ask if they need you to provide additional information (such as confirmation of baptism/church attendance) on a supplementary form. You must also include these schools on the preference form as a supplementary form is not an application. If a school requires you to complete a supplementary information form, you must obtain a copy from the school and return it to the school by the date specified by that school. Supplementary information forms for schools in Bexley are also available by visiting the Secondary schools your child can go to page. The schools in Bexley that require you to submit a supplementary information form are:
  • Beths Grammar School
  • Bexley Grammar School
  • Harris Garrard Academy
  • St Catherine’s Catholic School
  • St Columba’s Catholic Boys’ School
  • Townley Grammar School
  • Trinity CE School Belvedere
• the online application site closes at 11.59pm on 31 October 2026
• the final closing date for all applications (online or paper) is 31 October 2026
• if you include one or more schools in your list of preferences that is not a school in your home area, your home Local Authority will let the other Local Authority know of your application
• all applications for each school will be considered, by the admission authority for the school, against the published admission criteria, to decide which children can be offered places
• We will establish which is the highest preference amongst the schools you listed that can be offered. Parents will receive only one offer. If more than one school is able to offer a place, the system will select the one that was ranked highest on your application form
• if you are a Bexley resident and your child cannot be offered any of the schools you list, a place will be offered at the nearest, or one within a reasonable travelling distance, Bexley school to your home that has a vacancy
• if you applied online, you will receive an email with the school offered in the evening of Monday 1 March 2027, you will be able to log onto your eAdmissions account after receiving your offer notification to find out the details of the school offered. Please wait until you have received your email before logging onto your eAdmissions account.
• you will not receive a separate letter. All other applicants who applied using a paper form will be sent a letter on Monday 1 March 2027
• if you receive an offer for your 1st preference school, it will be assumed that you are accepting the offer and should only respond if declining the place. If you are not offered your first preference school, you will need to accept or decline your offer online by 17 March 2027
• if you are not offered your first preference school, your child’s name will be added to the waiting list of higher preference schools in Bexley, than the one offered. Waiting lists will be kept by the local authority until the end of Summer Term 2027, and places will be offered by the home Local Authority

How to apply

Apply online

• you can apply online from any computer, or mobile phone,  with internet access - at home or work, in a library or internet café
• it is a simple, fast, secure process with confirmation that your application has been received after you press the submit button
• apply when it suits you, but before the deadline of 11:59pm on 31 October 2026
• make sure you enter sibling details in the correct box. There is no automatic admission for a sibling of a child already attending the school. An application must still be submitted and processed. (we receive a high number of late siblings every year and this can result in parents not receiving a sibling offer)
• you can scan and upload address and date of birth evidence and other documentation with your application
• please remember to press the submit button by 31 October 2026 or your application will not be valid
• after you submit your application, you will receive a confirmation email with a unique reference number. Make sure you receive the confirmation, or your application may not be valid
• remember to return supplementary information forms directly to the schools that ask for them, and to send in evidence of address, medical evidence etc... to the School Admissions Team if not uploaded with your application
• you can view or change details at any time until 11:59pm on 31 October 2026. After that you can view, but not change, the preference details
• you will receive an email telling you the school offered during the evening of Monday 1 March 2027
• if you are not offered your first preference school, you will need to accept or decline your offer online by 17 March 2027
• if you decline the offered placement without having secured an alternative school, you risk your child not having a school place for September 2027. If you choose to refuse the offered place, it is important to consider the following:
  • once a place is declined, the offer will be marked as refused on your child's record and made available to another child
  • if you later change your mind, we cannot guarantee that the place will still be available for your child. However, they can be added to the school's waiting list

Apply online

Apply using a paper form

We would like parents to apply online, but paper forms will be available on request from the School Admissions Team.

Information to help you when applying