School Admissions
Children start primary school in the school year in which they reach the age of five. Children officially start their primary school education when they enter a reception year class.
If you have a child born between 1 September 2019 and 31 August 2020, they are eligible for a school place from September 2024. You will find key dates and important information in the Primary Admissions Booklet 2024, which will be published by mid-October 2024.
It is the responsibility of parents to apply for a school place at the correct times. You will not receive any letters from Southend-on-Sea City Council to inform you that you must apply for your childs school place however, early years settings and general marketing is in place to ensure parents are alerted.
Primary School Admissions to reception and year 3 at an Infant, Junior or Primary School are received and processed for all schools in the city by the School Admissions Team, Southend-on-Sea City Council for all residents in the city. Admissions during the school year are called In-year admissions. Application forms and further details about in-year admission should be made by selecting in-year admissions on this web site.
Applications are not treated on a "first come first served" basis and are processed according to the published determined admission arrangements. We strongly recommend parents to refer to the Admissions Booklet (link below) for further information about the admission process and for information on the school admission criteria.
Admissions to West Leigh are administered by Southend Local Education Authority at www.southend.gov.uk/school-admissions/primary-school-admissions-1
Determined Coordinated Admission Scheme 2023/24 can be found here
Admissions 2024 Timetable
Offer day – 16 April 2024
Details of appeals can be found at https://www.southend.gov.uk/school-admissions/school-admission-appeals
Catchment Area Postcode Table
http://www.southend.gov.uk/downloads/file/3561/catchment_area_postcode_look_up_table
Schools admissions: applications for overseas children
In most cases, children arriving from overseas have the right to attend schools in England.
It is the responsibility of parents to check that their children have a right, under their visa entry conditions, to study at a school. To help parents we recommend that those wishing to apply for a state funded school check that they have a right of right of abode or the conditions of their visas otherwise permit access a state-funded school.
Foreign nationals cannot use the 6 month visitor visa or a 6 month short-term study visa to enter the UK to enrol as a pupil at a school. Find out what these visas can be used for on the visitor visa and short term study visa pages.
Find out more visit the Department for Education.