Offers of secondary school places

When you will get your offer

On time applications

If you applied on time for admission in 2027, you will get an email in the evening of 1 March 2027 telling you where your child has been offered a place. 

If your child is not offered one of the schools you applied for, and you are unable to contact us by telephone, please email secondaryadmissions@lewisham.gov.uk and include 'Secondary transfer 2027 – allocated place' in the subject line.

How to accept your place

If you applied on time, visit the eAdmissions website to accept the place you have been offered. You will need to log into your eAdmissions account using the same user name and password you used to make your original application. If you applied via another method, you will need to follow the instructions in your letter to accept the place.

You must accept your place by Monday 15 March 2027. 

If you have not been offered any of the schools you applied for  

Unfortunately, we can’t offer every child a place at a school they applied for. However, we make sure we offer every child who lives in the borough a school place.

If you live in the borough and we can’t offer you a place at any of the schools on your list, we will offer you a place at your nearest Lewisham school that has a vacancy. This could be a faith or non-faith school.

Visit the school

Before you decide if you will accept this offer, you should visit the school and speak to the headteacher about the education and opportunities available there. Most local secondary schools have been completely rebuilt or refurbished and will offer your child state-of-the-art learning facilities.

Headteachers will be happy to show you their school and assure you that your child can aspire and progress there. If you accept the offer, you child will still stay on any waiting list they have been added to and you can still make an appeal.

If you don’t want to accept the place

If you visit the school and you still don't want to accept the place, call us on 020 8314 8282 (phone line open Monday-Thursday 10-12 noon and Monday afternoon 2-4pm), or email secondaryadmissions@lewisham.gov.uk to discuss your options and any other schools which can be offered as an alternative. Please include 'Secondary transfer 2027 – allocated place' in the subject line of the email.

If you have been offered a place but still want to be considered for a higher preference school

We recommend that you accept the school place you have been offered. Your child's name will automatically be placed on the waiting list for all higher preference schools than the school offered.

Waiting lists will move between 2 March and the start of the school term in September 2027, so there is still an opportunity for your child to be offered a higher preference school.

Taking your child off a waiting list

If you are happy with the school place your child has been offered and want your child to be taken off the waiting list, email secondaryadmissions@lewisham.gov.uk and include 'Secondary transfer 2027 – Remove from waiting list' in the subject line.

How to appeal a school place

You can appeal against a decision to not offer you a place at any of the schools you applied for. If you want to appeal, you must contact us straight away to find out how to appeal. We will also post you details about how and when to appeal.

For more advice on the appeals process for community schools in the borough, call the independent appeals clerk, on 020 8314 8577 or email schooladmissionappeals@lewisham.gov.uk.

For independent advice, you can contact Coram Children's Legal Centre.

Waiting lists

In accordance with the pan London agreement, and to ensure Lewisham meets its duty to continue to coordinate admissions beyond offer date and comply with the school admissions code section 2.15, waiting lists for Year 7 for secondary schools will be maintained in a clear, fair, and transparent way until 31 December of each school year of admission.

When new applicants are added or withdrawn from the waiting list; it will be reranked in line with the published oversubscription criteria. 

Priority will not be given to children based on the date their application was received, nor when their name was added to the list. Looked after children or previously looked after children or those allocated a place at the school in accordance with a Fair Access Protocol must take precedence over those on a waiting list

​Get more information

You can get advice and information on a wide range of school-related issues from the Department for Education, including the school admissions code and school admissions appeals code.