Westminster Primary School Admissions: Apply by 15 Jan

Westminster primary school admissions for September 2027 close at 11.59pm on Friday 15 January 2027. If your child was born between 1 September 2022 and 31 August 2023, they are due to start Reception next September and you need to apply by then, even if they already go to the nursery class of the school you want. Most Westminster schools give no priority for moving up from their own nursery.

The council’s 2027 brochure, published this month, shows how places went in 2026, and it is more reassuring than the school-gate talk suggests. Of the 30 schools with published figures, 22 offered a place to every on-time applicant. The pressure sits on a handful of schools, most of them church schools, and at the tightest the last place went to a child living 0.202 of a mile away.

The dates that matter

Apply at eadmissions.org.uk. You can name up to six schools, in Westminster or any other London borough, on one form.

Which schools were oversubscribed in 2026

These are the seven schools where the council’s brochure records places being allocated beyond siblings and priority categories, with the distance or category the last offer reached. Distances are straight-line, from your home’s Ordnance Survey address point to the pupils’ main entrance.

Two more schools, St Clement Danes C of E and St Peter’s C of E in Chippenham Mews, filled their places from siblings, church categories or distance, but the brochure gives no last distance for either.

Divide applications by places and Hampden Gurney was the most contested, with 4.7 on-time applications per Reception place, followed by St Mary’s Bryanston Square (4.0), St Saviour’s and St Vincent’s (3.8 each), St Joseph’s (3.4), Ark Atwood (2.5) and Christ Church Bentinck (1.6). On-time applications count every family that named the school at any preference, so these ratios overstate first-choice demand.

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Read the faith-school rows carefully. Where the last offer reached “category 4” or “category 7”, the distance applies only within that faith category. At Hampden Gurney, 1.757 miles was the distance reached among churchgoing families, not a catchment open to everyone. A family with no church connection would not have reached that far down the list.

At the other end, several schools had room to spare. Soho Parish had 16 on-time applications for 26 places and St Matthew’s 19 for 30, and schools across the borough, including Millbank Gardens, Pimlico Primary, Hallfield, Essendine, Queen’s Park Primary and St John’s Wood Primary, offered everyone who applied on time.

How places are ranked

At Westminster’s community schools, where the council is the admission authority, places go in this order when a school is oversubscribed:

1. Looked after and previously looked after children
2. Exceptional need, backed by professional evidence that only this school can meet it
3. Siblings of children who will still be at the school
4. Children of staff, in limited cases
5. Distance, nearest first

Church and academy schools set their own criteria, and they differ a lot. Most faith schools ask for a supplementary information form (SIF), sent to the school as well as naming it on your eAdmissions form, plus evidence such as a baptism certificate or a priest’s letter. Some split places into foundation (church) and open places. Not every school gives priority to siblings, so check each school’s page in the brochure.

Only the council’s measurement counts. The brochure warns that distances from a car, a pedometer or an online map are calculated differently and will not be accepted as evidence that the council’s figure is wrong.

How to fill in the form

• Rank schools in your true order of preference. Every school treats your application the same wherever you rank it, and schools are not told where they sat on your list. If you qualify for more than one, you get the highest one and the rest are released.
• Use all six choices. Include at least one school where you are reasonably sure your child ranks highly, such as your nearest undersubscribed school. Naming it does not hurt your chances at the others.
• Do not miss the deadline. A late application without a valid reason is considered only after 16 April, behind every on-time applicant.

If you do not get the school you want

Your child is placed automatically on the waiting list of every Westminster school you ranked higher than the one offered. Waiting lists are ordered by the admission criteria, not by how long you have been on them, so your position can go down as well as up when a family who lives closer applies. For voluntary aided schools, academies and schools in other boroughs, ask the school or borough directly for your position.

You can appeal to an independent panel for any school you named. At Reception, though, the law limits infant classes to 30 pupils with one teacher, so appeals succeed only on very narrow grounds. In 2026 Hampden Gurney had one appeal, which was not upheld.

Contact

Westminster’s Admissions Team: 020 7745 6433 (weekdays, 9am to 2pm) or schooladmissions@westminster.gov.uk. The council’s starting primary school page has the full brochure and the hints and tips leaflet. For the next step up, see our guide to Westminster secondary school admissions, which close on 31 October, and the Westminster school term dates.

Frequently asked questions

When is the deadline for Westminster primary school applications? 11.59pm on Friday 15 January 2027 for online applications, or 5pm the same day for paper forms, for children born between 1 September 2022 and 31 August 2023.

When is primary school offer day in 2027? Friday 16 April 2027, national offer day. Online applicants get an email that evening, and offers must be accepted or declined by 30 April.

Does my child get priority if they attend the school’s nursery? At most Westminster schools, no. You must still apply by the closing date, and nursery attendance does not usually count in the admission criteria.

How is distance measured for Westminster primary schools? In a straight line from your home’s Ordnance Survey address point to the main pupil entrance, using the council’s own mapping system.

Which Westminster primary schools are hardest to get into? In 2026, St Joseph’s Catholic Primary (last place at 0.202 of a mile), St Saviour’s (0.222) and St Mary’s Bryanston Square (0.398) had the tightest distances, and Hampden Gurney had the most applications per place.

Can I apply late? Yes, but without a valid reason your application is considered only after offer day. If you have an exceptional reason, such as just moving into the area, and apply by 11 February 2027, it may be treated as on time.

Sources

• Westminster City Council, Starting primary school from September 2027 (page last updated 18 September 2026).
• Westminster City Council, Primary school admissions brochure for 2027, including “How places were offered in 2026” for each school.
• Westminster City Council, Primary school admissions 2027: hints and tips.