How to apply
Before you make your application you should:
It contains everything you need to know including:
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how to apply for a secondary school place including a including a step-by-step guide to making your online application
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key dates and deadlines
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details of all Tower Hamlets secondary schools
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admissions criteria and how places are allocated.
2. Attend a parent information session
The Tower Hamlets Transition Support Service advocates early intervention to support children, young people and their families with information and advice at key points of transition to help manage change and make informed decisions about the next steps of their learning journey.
To support families with the secondary transfer application process, Tower Hamlets Transition Support Service are holding online information sessions delivered through TEAMS starting on Wednesday 9 September 2026 until the October half term.
The School Admissions Service will be present and this is a good opportunity for parents/carers to ask questions directly about how applications are processed.
Book your place on a secondary transfer parent session now. There are a number of dates available and morning/evening sessions:
- September: Morning sessions (10am) on 9, 22 and 30 September; evening sessions (6pm) on 17 and 24 September
- October: 6, 14 and 20 October (10am)
3. Start your application
You can apply for a school place for Year 7 through e-admissions.
If you live outside of Tower Hamlets, and want to apply for a place in a Tower hamlets school you should do this through your own local authority.
Apply to eAdmissions
4. Closing date
Make sure to submit your application by the closing date on 31 October 2026.
If you wish to make changes to your application after the closing date of 31 October 2026 you must contact us and let us know what change you would like to make, and why.
If you are making your application after the closing date, it may not be considered until April 2027, after the decisions have been taken for ‘on-time’ applications.
If there are exceptional reasons why your application is late, for example your family has just arrived in Tower Hamlets, contact us with your reasons and we will look into it.
5. Banding
Banding is used in Tower Hamlets to help ensure that secondary schools maintain a balanced admission intake.
Every child who applies for a place at a Tower Hamlets school must sit a cognitive ability test (CAT).
6. School admission policies
It is important that you consider the admissions criteria and the likelihood of your child being offered a place before you name a school on your application form.
For information on the Local Authority’s admission arrangements and a list of schools which determine their own admission policies (Academy and faith schools) please visit School admissions criteria. Their policies should be available from the schools' websites.
Please note that the schools may also require you to complete an additional supplementary information form (SIF), in order to process your application, check the website for more details.
6.1 Supplementary Information forms (SIF)
Schools which determine their own admission policies (Academy and faith schools) may also require you to complete an additional supplementary information form (SIF), in order to process your application.
For the list of schools visit School admissions criteria, the SIF can be obtained directly from the school and should be returned to the school.
7. National Offer Day
Parents will be able to log into their eadmissions account to view the outcome of their application on 1 March 2027. They will also receive an email, which is sent after 5pm.
Technical support
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If you require technical support with completing your application, please visit Digital support.
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If you are having problems with your eadmissions account, you should contact eAdmissions.