Admissions
Our admissions authority is Leeds City Council and set our admissions policy for us every year. You can read the latest policy (our policy link)
Reception applications take place between November and January. Your child can start reception if they are 4 years old the following September. If you apply after January, your child will be put on the “SAM” waiting list. St Mary's has an admission number of 20.
You must apply to the local authority who empties your bins. If this is Leeds, go to www.leeds.gov.uk/apply. The website is a composite prospectus for all Leeds schools and this includes:
- all of the steps you need to go through to make an application
- the key dates
- a search tool to see if your home address gives any higher priority for admission to any school(s)
- an explanation about how places are offered if there are more applications than spaces (oversubscribed)
- the online application portal – apply online and you’ll be sent your offer by email
- a summary of each school’s individual admission policy criteria
- data about who got a place in the last 3 years – this will help you work out if there is a reasonable chance of your child qualifying for a place.
You can also see information about our school, including previous admission data, on our school page on the Leeds City Council’s website https://www.leeds.gov.
More information can be found on https://www.leeds.gov.uk/
If you are thinking of deferring your place in reception, please call the school and speak to Mrs Benson.
Transferring between schools
In-Year Admissions
If you’re moving into Leeds or want to change schools in Leeds, you need to make a school transfer – often called an in-year application.
Moving schools can be a difficult experience for a child. You should always speak to your child’s current school before trying to move to see what support they can offer you
How to apply for an in-year place
Leeds City Council has delegated the decision making for in-year applications to our Governing Body.
You can apply for a place online using the Leeds in-year application form at Before you move schools (leeds.gov.uk).You can apply for places at our school and any other Leeds schools who are part of the centralised Leeds in-year application scheme at the same time.
If you have moved house, please upload evidence of the house move with the online application. You can find out what you need to provide on the above website.
We have to offer places by applying our admission policy criteria to your child’s application and we will contact you with our decision about offering you a place. We will tell you our decision no later than 15 school days from when you apply.
If we cannot offer you a place, we will
- inform you of the reasons
- explain how you can appeal and
- add your child to our waiting list in case a place becomes free.
Our waiting lists are kept until the end of each school year. You will need to make a new application if you want to be on the waiting list for the following school year.
Appeals
If we cannot offer you a place, you will have the right of appeal. The appeal panel is independent of the school and council and their decision is legally binding.
Before you appeal you:
- should accept any place that you have been offered in case your appeal is not successful
- should think about why you are appealing and check if it’s likely to be successful
- could read the advice for appealing school places on GOV.UK
- could get independent advice on making an appeal from a charity
Leeds City Council arranges our appeals and you can find the appeal form at School appeals (leeds.gov.uk)
Appeals for Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 – these classes are limited to 30 pupils per teacher by law. This means that appeals for these places are less likely to be successful.
If our school refuses your child a place because of this limit and you want to appeal, you will need to make an infant class size appeal. You can see if your reasons are likely to be successful by reading the Department for Education’s information about infant class size appeals.
Other appeals – You can appeal because you want your child to attend a particular school. These are successful if the panel agree that the reasons for your appeal outweigh the school’s decision not to admit any more children.
Leeds City Council has determined the admission arrangements for community and voluntary controlled schools for the 2025/2026 school year.
The 2025 Leeds co-ordination schemes was also been approved.
All these documents can be found here: https://www.leeds.gov.uk/