Secondary school applications for September 2026
The first round of secondary school applications ran between 12 September and 31 October 2025. First round applicants will receive school place offers on 2 March 2026, National Offer Day:
- Online applicants – informed by email and Parent Portal account
- Offline applicants – informed by letter, sent via Royal Mail second class post
If you haven’t yet applied for a secondary school place for September 2026, you can still do so. The second round of applications is open between 1 November 2025 and 31 March 2026.
If you apply during the second round, we will process your application during the week commencing 27 April 2026. We will post you a letter with the school place offer via Royal Mail second class post by 1 May 2026.
Introduction
The information in this section is for school place applications when:
- Transferring to secondary school (Year 7) starting in September 2026.
- Transferring to middle school (Year 9) starting in September 2026.
We do not process any applications for sixth form or further education colleges in Peterborough.
Key dates
Applications for Year 7 places for September 2026 launched on 12 September 2025.
The deadline for second round applications is 31 March 2026.
If you apply during the second round, we will process your application during the week commencing 27 April 2026.
We advise you visit the schools you are interested in, we have added upcoming open days below.
Apply to the correct council
Check you are applying to the correct council.
You need to ensure that you apply to the local authority - this is where you live and pay your council tax. If you live in Peterborough, you will apply through Peterborough City Council. This includes schools in other local authority areas.
If you want to apply in Peterborough and another local authority area, you only need to apply once. We share your admissions information with other local authorities. Then we make you an offer based on a coordinated response. To find out about schools outside of Peterborough, visit their websites or their local authority website. You can find out about oversubscription criteria and additional requirements like taking an aptitude test.
Transferring into year 7
If your child was born between 1 September 2014 and 31 August 2015 and lives in Peterborough, you need to apply for a Year 7 place at secondary school.
Transferring into year 9
Peterborough doesn’t have any middle or upper schools. If your child lives in Peterborough you can apply for schools outside of Peterborough. If your child is currently in middle school (Year 8), they can transfer to upper school (Year 9) in September 2026. This will be a child born between 1 September 2012 and 31 August 2013.
In-year application (moving schools)
If your child is already at secondary school and you want to move them to a different school you must apply for an in year admission on our moving schools page.