East Renfrewshire - School Admissions for Primary 1 (2026–2027)

East Renfrewshire Council
Choosing a school for your child
School admission applications and placing requests for session 2026-2027
Applying for a P1 primary school place for your child
East Renfrewshire Council invites you to apply for a P1 school place for your child at the preferred catchment primary school, for school academic year 2026-27.
You must apply for a place at your preferred catchment school (either the local denominational or non-denominational school) even if you intend to make a placing request to another school; this ensures that a place is held for your child in the event of an unsuccessful placing request. If you intend to educate your child privately or at home, you should inform your local catchment school by email of your intention.
You may also choose to apply for an East Renfrewshire catchment place for your child at Bun-Sgoil Ghaidhlig Thornliebank, the Council’s Gaelic Medium Primary Education offer.
For P1 catchment school applications you can apply online via our online application form. The application form will be available on the Council’s website at https://www.eastrenfrewshire.gov.uk/apply-for-p1 where you will also find a copy of the Council’s school admissions policy.
Online applications should be made from 1 December 2025 until 16 January 2026. Any catchment applications after 16 January 2026 should continue to be submitted using the online form. However, it is advisable where possible, to make your application by this date as this provides you with the optimum chance of securing a place in your preferred school.
Catchment applicants must submit documentary evidence to validate the catchment application, including: the child’s birth certificate; a child benefit statement where appropriate; the most recent copy of Council Tax Notice; most recent mortgage statement or tenancy agreement; and a recent utility bill.
If you are not in receipt of child benefit the Council will also accept a driving licence or bank statement (dated within the last 3 months). If your child is of Roman Catholic faith, and you are applying for a place in a Roman Catholic denominational school, you should also provide the Roman Catholic Baptismal certificate. Should you not provide a Roman Catholic Baptismal Certificate your child will not be recorded as meeting the Roman Catholic faith criteria, should this be required when allocating places in cases of oversubscription.
Parents/carers will be required to submit their documentary evidence digitally via an online portal. Guidance advising how evidence can be submitted will be provided in the automated response email which parents/carers will receive only once their application has been submitted.
Should any parent/carer not be able to apply for a catchment school place online or submit digital versions of the required documentary evidence, please contact School Admissions (details below), for further guidance.
Deferred school entry and eligibility from 1 August 2026: Catchment Residents
If your child is not yet 5 years old on 1 August 2026, your child is entitled to another year of fully funded early learning and childcare. You need to let us know if you want to defer your child’s entry to school so that we can allocate them another year at nursery; even if deferring your child’s entry to P1 you must submit a P1 application and record your request to defer. Should deferral applicants decide at a later date that they wish for their child to commence their primary education in August 2026, the School Admissions team should be advised of this as soon as possible. However, late P1 applicants will be less likely to be allocated a P1 place at the preferred catchment school.
Parents/carers who chose to defer their child’s entry for August 2026, must apply for a P1 catchment place for the commencement of the 2027-28 school academic year, in December 2026. By deferring a school place there is no higher priority allocated to applicants for the following year; all applications will be processed in accordance with the Council’s school admissions policy regardless of previous deferral.
For more information on deferring entry to school visit the Council’s website: https://eastrenfrewshire.gov.uk/article/1334/Apply-for-primary-1
P7-S1 Transition
If your child is currently in the P7 year stage and attends an East Renfrewshire school, the School Admissions Team will be in contact to advise on the process for transitioning to secondary school.
The P7 transfer letter, along with the accompanying form, will be posted to the home address currently held on the school’s records for each P7 pupil by 31 October. Parents should complete and sign the form and return it to the school as quickly as possible.
If you do not receive the P7 transfer letter, please contact the School Admissions Team using the contact details provided below.
New catchment applications – any other stages (P2-P7 & S2-S6)
If you reside within or are in the process of becoming resident with East Renfrewshire and wish to apply for a school place for any other year stage (P2-P7 & S2-S6), please contact the Schools Admissions team for further guidance (details below).
New catchment applications – any other stages (P2-P7 & S2-S6)
If you reside within or are in the process of becoming resident with East Renfrewshire and wish to apply for a school place for any other year stage (P2-P7 & S2-S6), please contact the Schools Admissions team for further guidance (details below).
Placing requests
Most school children attend their local primary or secondary school, but parents/carers can choose to apply for a place for their child in any other school.
If you are interested in making a placing request for a school in East Renfrewshire, visit the Council’s website at https://www.eastrenfrewshire.gov.uk/placing-requests where you will find information on how to apply, be able to submit your application online and get further information on how placing requests are processed.
If you are unable to access the placing request portal, please contact School Admissions (details below).
Placing request applications for the school session beginning August 2026 should be received by the Education Department between 1 December 2025 and 31 January 2026 to be regarded as on time and processed in the first phase of applications.
Applications received after 31 January 2026 will be treated as late applications and will be processed only after those received on time have been considered.
General
If you require further information about a particular school, you should contact the school directly or visit the school’s website. The links for these websites can be found on the Council’s website.
The Education Department will process application fairly and transparently in accordance with its school admissions and placing request arrangements which are published on the Council’s website. In doing so the Council will conduct checks to establish the accuracy of information supplied which may include visits to premises or surveillance in cases where it is necessary and proportionate to do so. Any attempts to obtain a place by deception will result in the rejection of your application/placing request and may result in the matter being referred to the Procurator Fiscal’s office for consideration of criminal proceedings.
East Renfrewshire School Admissions: admissions@eastrenfrewshire.gov.uk
0141 577 3246
Mark Ratter, Director of Education