Admissions
Applying for a place at St Paul's
St Paul's is an academy within St Bartholomew's CE Multi Academy Trust. Places in Reception are applied for through Staffordshire County Council. Places in other year groups during the school year are applied for through the school.
Please check the official information before you apply. This page summarises Staffordshire County Council's school admissions guidance, checked on 30 September 2026. Dates and rules can change from year to year, so always check the latest details on the Staffordshire County Council school admissions pages (opens in a new tab) and in our admissions policy. If anything here differs from the council's information or our policy, the council's information and our policy are correct.
Starting Reception in September 2027
Apply for a Reception place starting in September 2027 if your child was born between 1 September 2022 and 31 August 2023.
Applications are made online to the council for the area where your child lives, even if the school you prefer is in another area. The council strongly advises naming more than one school, and including your catchment school.
As an academy, St Paul's sets its own admission arrangements. Our admissions policy for 2027 to 2028 (PDF) explains how places are given if we have more applications than places, and whether you need to give us any extra information.
- 1 November 2026
- Applications open.
- 15 January 2027
- National closing date. Applying late may affect the outcome of your application.
- 16 April 2027
- National Offer Day. Families receive their offer of a place.
- April to August 2027
- Late applications are processed and any available places are offered from waiting lists.
- June to July 2027
- Independent panels hear admission appeals.
Apply for a primary school place on the Staffordshire County Council website (opens in a new tab)
Starting school: your options
Children can start school full time in the September after their fourth birthday. They do not have to be in full-time education until the term after their fifth birthday, so families have some choices.
Deferring the start
You can choose for your child to start later in the Reception year. This cannot be later than the point your child reaches compulsory school age, or later than the start of the final term of that school year.
Starting part time
Your child can attend part time for a while. This cannot continue beyond the point your child reaches compulsory school age.
Summer-born children
If your child was born between 1 April and 31 August, you can ask for them to start Reception a year later. Apply at the normal time, by the closing date of 15 January, and give your reasons. For an academy such as St Paul's, the request is decided by the trust and governors together with the headteacher. If it is agreed, you will need to make a new application for the following year.
Read the Department for Education guidance on summer-born children (opens in a new tab)
Starting early
If you want your child to start school earlier than usual, apply at the same time as other families and explain why an exception should be made. For an academy such as St Paul's, the request is decided by the trust and governors together with the headteacher.
Joining during the school year
If you would like a place for your child in any year group during the school year, please contact the school office first.
Staffordshire's in-year application form is sent directly to the school you would like. A place is not guaranteed, so please do not take your child out of their current school until you have been offered a new place. Free home-to-school transport is only provided in line with the council's transport policy, so think about how your child would travel to school.
Read about in-year admissions on the Staffordshire County Council website (opens in a new tab)
Appeals and help with applying
If your child is refused a place, you have the right to appeal to an independent panel. The letter refusing the place explains how to appeal and by when.
Read about admission appeals on the Staffordshire County Council website (opens in a new tab)
For help with an application, contact the Staffordshire County Council School Admissions and Transport Service.
Email: admissions@staffordshire.gov.uk
Phone: 0300 111 8007 (choose option 3, then School Admissions and Transport)
Post: School Admissions and Transport Service, Staffordshire County Council, 1 Staffordshire Place, Stafford, ST16 2LP
For questions about St Paul's, please contact the school office.