Parents of year six pupils in Derbyshire are being urged to apply now to get their child a place at secondary school in September 2009.
Around 8,700 year six primary school children – who were born between September 1, 1997 and August 31, 1998 – have been sent an application pack.
This can be done online in the school admissions section of the county council's website at www.de
rbyshire.gov.uk/admissions. The deadline to submit applications is 3.30pm on Friday, October 24, 2008.
Anyone who applies online also receives an email to confirm their application has been received.
Parents who do not have access to a computer can Call Derbyshire on 08456 058 058 between 8am and 8pm on weekdays and 9.30am and 4pm on Saturdays. As always, they can still choose to complete the paper form included in the application pack which can be returned to their child's current school.
When completing the application form parents will be asked to list, in order of preference, the three schools they would most like their child to go to. Although parents have a legal right to express preferences they have no automatic right to a place at any particular school.
Applications submitted to Derbyshire County Council after the deadline will not be considered until places have been allocated to those children whose parents did return their form on time. Parents who fail to meet the deadline may find that the school they want their child to go to is full.
Cllr Alan Charles, the council's cabinet member for schools, said: "Parents are asked to carefully consider which school they want their child to go to and get in their application before the deadline."
The full article contains 293 words and appears in n/a newspaper.
