Primary School registration opens

Sunday 04 October 2020

Parents and guardians of children set to start school next September are now able to apply for admission to their catchment primary.

Registration must be completed before 15:00 on Friday 18 December. Any registrations submitted after this date will be given a lower priority if spaces are limited.

All children who will be five years old before 1 September 2021 will be starting school in that year, unless they are exempt under the law or receive an alternative education provision. If spaces are available, children who will be four on or before 31 August 2020 may also be able to start.

Children who are baptised Catholic can be registered at one of the two Catholic primary schools, Notre Dame du Rosaire in St Peter Port, or St Mary & St Michael in St Sampson’s.

If you are unsure of your catchment area, you can identify it using your postcode at www.gov.gg/catchmentareas. Applications for each Primary school are available from www.gov.gg/schooladmissions, or alternatively from the schools themselves.

Pictured: Applications for children starting school in September next year are open between now and 18 December.

Applications can be made for a child to attend a school that is not in their catchment. This can be done by sending a PC-OCAPS request to Education Resources & Estates Management, but they must also apply for their catchment school.

Completed applications for pupils starting in Reception should be delivered to the relevant catchment school, but those starting in Year 1 can hand theirs directly to Education Resources & States Management at Sir Charles Frossard House.

Application forms must include copies of proof of address, the child’s birth certificate, and proof of the guardian’s identity. A Catholic baptismal certificate will be required for the Voluntary Catholic schools. 

A States’ spokesperson said that it is vital that children are registered for a place on time.

“The year group sizes can influence the resources allocated to each Primary School,” they said. “It is expected that parents and carers will be informed of their child’s allocated Primary School by the end of the Spring term.”