You can now apply for a school place for your children from today as school admissions in Hammersmith and Fulham are now open.

An information session on the application process will be held at the Lyric Theatre in King Street, Hammersmith, W6 0QL on Tuesday 6 October, from 6.30 to 7.30pm. Parents and their children are welcome to come along to find out more.

Applications for children due to start primary and secondary schools in Hammersmith & Fulham from September 2016 are now being accepted.

The deadline for secondary school applications is 5pm on Friday 31 October 2015 and for primary schools is 5pm on Friday 15 January 2016.

Cllr Sue Macmillan, cabinet member for children and education, said: “School applications are an important and often stressful time for parents, so we are determined to make it as easy as possible. That’s why we’ve put together helpful information on the online system.

“We also urge parents and carers to research admission criteria schools, visit them and look at Ofsted reports before making their final decisions.”

You can apply online at www.lbhf.gov.uk/eadmissions. The e-admissions system is designed to help you by guiding you through the process, ensuring you do not miss anything vital or make any mistakes.

The system is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, meaning you can edit your application and change preferences right up to the closing date. You should have the security of knowing your application is valid and has been accepted as you will receive an auto-receipt and reference number once you submit the completed application.

By applying online, you can see which school you have been offered a day before postal applicants – on the evening of 1 March 2016, for secondary school pupils and on 18 April 2016, for primary places.

If you prefer, you can still fill in a paper version, available from the admissions team on 020 7745 6434 or email school.admissions@lbhf.gov.uk.

The admissions intake is coordinated on a London-wide basis, meaning H&F parents can apply for up to six state school places in any London borough, listed in order of preference, but you must apply via H&F Council.

Each of the schools' admissions criteria is different and many of the borough’s schools are oversubscribed. If more than one school wants to offer a child a place, the order of the preferences the parent has put on the form will determine which school they will be offered. It is therefore important that parents order their school choices carefully.

September 3, 2015