Apply for a secondary school place
You can submit your school application from 9am on 4 September 2023. Applications close on 31 October 2023 at 5pm.
To apply for a secondary school place you will need to:
- apply through Medway Council if you live in Medway
- apply through your own local authority if you live outside of Medway
- use your child’s main address
- complete an application for each child if you’re applying for more than one such as twins. They will not count as a sibling link for a place.
When applying you can:
- name both Medway and non-Medway schools on your application
- apply for up to 6 different schools in order of preference (not including private, independent or special schools)
- choose to apply for less than 6 schools.
When applying remember we still cannot guarantee or give a child a priority place:
- if you name just one school, this will not improve your chances of being offered a place at that school
- if you name a school multiple times. It will only be considered as one of your preferences
- if you have added your child’s name to a school’s expression of interest list
- based on your childcare arrangements.
How to apply for a secondary school
You can apply for a school place using the Parent Portal.
Apply for a secondary school place
When applying you will need to:
- complete a supplementary information form (SIF) alongside your application if you are applying for Rainham Mark Grammar School, St John Fisher Catholic Comprehensive School or The Rochester Grammar School. You can get these forms from the school
- provide professional evidence if you or your child has a health, medical or special access need as soon as you have submitted your application.
Applications for children with an EHCP
If your child has an education, health and care plan (EHCP) you do not apply through this mainstream process.
Apply for a school place for a child with an EHCP
Applying if you do not have access to a computer at home
You can use computers at our community hubs or libraries to complete your online application.
If you cannot apply online, you can get a paper application from Gun Wharf, Dock Road, Chatham, ME4 4TR. You will not get a receipt of paper applications.
Parental responsibility and disputes
Only a person with parental responsibility for a child can apply for their school places.
If we receive more than one application for a child and they are different, the parents must either agree between them or seek a court order to decide:
- the schools to be named on the application
- the order of preference for those schools
- the address to be used for the application
- who is to be named the main applications (we can send copies of correspondence to the other parent).
If there is a dispute and parents cannot agree, we will contact both parents to confirm that neither application will be processed until agreement is reached.
Medway Council will not mediate in cases of parental disputes.
Late applications
The deadline for applications is 31 October 2023.
If you apply between 1 November 2023 and 5pm on 10 November 2023, we will accept your application as on-time where possible.
Any applications not accepted as on-time or received after 5pm on 10 November 2023 will be processed as late applications from 22 April 2024.