Secondary school admissions

National Offer Day - Wednesday 1 March

You will receive a text message on 1 March from eadmissions to notify you when you can log in to your account to view the outcome of your application. This is likely to be late afternoon or early evening. The admissions service will also post a letter to you on 1 March to advise you of the outcome.

We are unable to notify you of the outcome by telephone on 1 March.

If you haven't been offered a place at one of your preferred schools, please see information on how to appeal the decision.

Starting Secondary school in September 2023

If you live in Tower Hamlets and your child is in Year 6 (born between 1 September 2011 and 31 August 2012) you will need to make an online application via eadmissions portal for them to transfer to secondary school in September 2023.

The closing date for making applications is 31 October 2022

Mohammed Malik: 020 7364 4307
Hasina Hussain - 020 7364 2542
Marjia Billah: 020 7364 4670 020 7364 4670
Kelly Mack: 020 7364 5860

Email: school.admissions@towerhamlets.gov.uk

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 application.

We have also produced a film which explains the secondary transfer process and gives useful tips and advice from parents and children who have experience of the process.

You may also find this short information clip highlighting the main dates and important information useful.

Mulberry Stepney Green Maths, Computing and Science College

(Formerly Stepney Green Maths, Computing and Science College)

Mulberry Stepney Green Maths, Computing and Science College changed from a boys’ school to a co-educational (boys and girls) school from September 2019, please see the secondary booklet for further information.

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.

Pupil assessment from each Primary school in the summer term of year 5 is used to place every pupil in one of four quartiles. For administrative purposes, the quartiles are Band A, B, C or D.

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

For pupils who apply from primary schools outside of Tower Hamlets, teacher assessment will also be used to determine which in quartile they will be placed.

All the borough’s community schools use banding. Please refer to the Pupil Ability Banding FAQ leaflet for more details.

Appeals

If you are not offered a place at a school of your preference you can appeal that decision. The appeals panel is independent of the council and schools in the borough.

You must complete and submit your appeal online. This is a simple and safe way to appeal and you will get a receipt to confirm it has been submitted.

Please include any evidence or supporting material with your online appeal and you must give the reasons for your appeal at the time the appeal is submitted. You may appeal for more than one school.

Appeal Outcomes 2022
School	Number of appeals recieved (by 31 March)	Number of appeals successful
Central Foundation Girls School	22	1
George Greens	14	1
Langdon Park	9	1
Morpeth	25	3
Mulberry School for Girls	16	2
Mulberry Academy Shoreditch	0	0
Oaklands	0	0
Stepney All Saints	43	0
Mulberry Academy Stepney Green	21	1
Swanlea	49	3
St Pauls Way Trust	105	1

Appeals for Canary Wharf College Schools should be made via the schools website:

Appeals timetable
Last day for lodging appeal forms for places in year 7 at SECONDARY schools	4pm on 31 March 2023 Appeals received after this date may not be heard by the end of the summer term.
Last day for lodging appeal forms for Reception in PRIMARY schools	4pm on 17 May 2023 Appeals received after this date may not be heard by the end of the summer term.
Secondary appeals will take place from	April to June 2023
Primary appeals will take place from	June to July 2023
Invitation letter giving you details about your hearing will be sent by the Clerk to the Independent Appeal Panel	At least 10 school days before the hearing
Any additional evidence or supporting evidence	At least 5 school days before the hearing. You are advised that additional paperwork received on the day of the appeal hearing will not be taken into account.
Letter from the Clerk informing you of the decision of the independent panel	Where possible this will be sent 5 school days after the last hearing for all the appeals held for that particular school.

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.

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 2023 to remain on the waiting list after this time. Admissions policies for the following schools are available from the schools' websites:

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:

Mohammed Malik - 020 7364 4307
Hasina Hussain - 020 7364 2542
Marjia Billah - 020 7364 4670
Kelly Mack - 020 7364 5860

Need a school place today?

If your child is of secondary school age now and does not have a school place, please contact the council's Pupil Services team or visit our in-year admissions page.