Secondary school admissions

Starting Secondary school in September 2025

If you live in Tower Hamlets and your child is in Year 6 (born between 1 September 2013 and 31 August 2014) you will need to make an online application via eadmissions portal for them to transfer to secondary school in September 2025.

The closing date for making applications is midnight on 31 October 2024.

Banding

Banding is used at secondary transfer to help to ensure that secondary schools maintain a balanced admission intake. This should reflect the full range of abilities of all children in the local authority.Every child who applies must sit a cognitive ability test (CAT).

The results are used to group applications into four ability bands (quartiles). For administrative purposes, the quartiles are referred to as Band A, B, C, and D. The results are not published at any stage during the transfer to secondary school process.

In the case of oversubscription, secondary schools will take an equal amount of pupils from each quartile, ensuring that children from all abilities have equality of access. 

The banding information page contains further details. 

Banding assessment dates

• If your child is in Year 6 at a Tower Hamlets primary school, they will take the CAT4 assessment at their primary school in September. The school will arrange the assessment. 

• If your child attends a school outside Tower Hamlets, you must register them for the CAT4. They will be invited to sit the CAT4 at a Tower Hamlets secondary school in November. The Admissions Service will contact you via email in October/November to tell you the date and venue for your child's test. The session will last about three hours. 

There are no alternative assessment dates and it is your responsibility to make sure your child is available to take the assessment on your allocated date.

Failure to take the test will result in your child's application being considered after all the applications for children who have taken the test.

All the borough’s community schools use banding.

Download the banding registration form. 

Before you apply

The Ready for Secondary School in Tower Hamlets booklet contains all the information you need on applying, including a step by step guide to making your online applications, plus details of all Tower Hamlets secondary schools.

When applying for a school place please remember that it will be your responsibility to ensure your child gets to and from school safely.

The council provides support with home to school travel in exceptional circumstances only, and you would usually be expected to apply for your local schools before any support would be considered.

If you are not sure where your local schools are, please use our school finder tool. Find out more about the school travel policy.

Tower Hamlets Transition Support Service provides impartial advice, information and assistance to support children, young people and their families during key points of transition.

They can provide help with a range of school issues including school admissions, appeals and home/school communication.

Admissions policies for the following schools are available from the schools' websites:

• Bishop Challoner

• Canary Wharf College Crossharbour  

• London Enterprise Academy 

• Stepney All Saints CofE Secondary School

• St Paul's Way Trust  

• Wapping High School

National Offer Day - 3 March 2025

Parents will be able to log into their account on eadmissions to view the outcome of their application on 3 March 2025. They will also receive an email, this is sent after 5pm.

Waiting lists

If your child is not offered a place at your first preference school or you are offered one of your lower preference schools, your child will be added to the waiting list.

You will need to reapply in December 2025 to remain on the waiting list after this time. 

Schools with places remaining after National Offer Day

• If you have not received an offer at a preferred school you may wish to make further applications to the schools listed below who have some vacancies currently. You may also place your child’s name on the waiting list for any Tower Hamlets school.
• Please contact the Admissions Service at school.admissions@towerhamlets.gov.uk by 17 March 2025. 
• We will aim to notify you of the outcome of your applications to schools that have vacancies at the end of March.
• You can also place your child’s name on the waiting list for any Tower Hamlets school that is currently full - we will notify you if a place becomes available.

Map of secondary schools and registered independent secondary schools in Tower Hamlets

Contact the Admissions Service

By email

You can contact the admissions service by email at school.admissions@towerhamlets.gov.uk 

We can only make changes to an existing application if you email your request - this includes change of address and preference/s.

By telephone: 020 7364 5006

The service receives a high volume of calls, please email us if your enquiry is not urgent. 

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Further information