School Admissions

Admission to Reception

Children born between 1st September 2019 and 31st August 2020 will be eligible to start in September 2024.  The Governing Body of St Oswald’s School is the admissions authority and has published an admissions policy (see below).  The Local Authority is the coordinator of admissions and all applications should be made through Durham County Council.

Durham County Council’s website for full admissions information and to apply for a place.  Applications made after 15th January 2024 will be treated as late applications in accordance with our admissions policy.  Please contact Durham County Council’s admissions team if you would like to submit an application.

We are offering the following dates for our school tour please come and have a look:

Please contact the school office if you would like to visit the school on office@stoswaldsdurham.net or phone 0191 386 8029.

You can see our virtual tour video from 2020 on the school’s Facebook page (click here). 

Timetable for applying for primary school places for September 2024

If your child is not successfully allocated a place at our school then you may wish to join our waiting list for a place from 17th April.  The waiting list will be maintained until 31st August 2024.  If you would like your child to remain on the waiting list after this date then you must contact us again. Please contact the school office via email.  Our email address is stoswalds.ce@durhamlearning.net 

As a Voluntary Aided school, we hold our own waiting list rather than this being controlled by Durham County Council.  We ask that you provide us with your child’s full name, date of birth and full address.  Please also provide contact telephone numbers for one or both parents.  By asking to join our waiting list, you must agree to us sharing information with the local authority’s admissions team as they calculate the distances from your home to our school and store the details within the LA’s school admissions system.

If you wish to submit a school place appeal then this should also be directed to the school office using the form/information below.  Please note that the Government have relaxed the requirements set out in the School Admissions Appeal Code (2012) due to the ongoing coronavirus crisis. 

The new regulations, which will be in force until 30 September 2021 unless revoked by the Government earlier than this, will:

• disapply the requirement that appeals panels must be held in person and instead give flexibility for panel hearings to take place either in person, by telephone, video conference or through a paper-based appeal where all parties can make representations in writing
• relax the rules with regard to what happens if one of the 3 panel members withdraws (temporarily or permanently) to make it permissible for the panel to continue with and conclude the appeal as a panel of 2
• amend the deadlines relating to appeals for the time that the new regulations are in force

What does this mean for an appeal against refusal of a place at St Oswald’s?  Our procedure and timetable have been updated.  Please download these below.  The deadline for any other appeal (e.g. in-year admissions) applies as per our procedure/timetable but where we refer to school days please note that this would be what would have been our normal term time dates.

Appeals at St Oswald’s School – procedure and timetable

Appeal notification form and further information

Further information about school place appeals can be found on Durham County Council’s website but please note that all forms regarding St Oswald’s must be returned to the school directly rather than the Council.

Admission to Year 1 to 6, or mid-year admission to Reception.

If you live in County Durham and wish to change your child’s primary school, or if you are moving into the area, please visit Durham County Council’s changing primary school web page for more information and an application form.

If your child is not successfully allocated a place at our school then you may wish to join our waiting list for a place.  The waiting list will be maintained until 31st August 2024.  If you would like your child to remain on the waiting list after this date then you must contact us again.  Please contact the school office directly regarding this.  Our email address is stoswalds.ce@durhamlearning.net
As a Voluntary Aided school, we hold our own waiting list rather than this being controlled by Durham County Council.  We ask that you provide us with your child’s full name, date of birth and full address.  Please also provide contact telephone numbers for one or both parents.  By asking to join our waiting list, you must agree to us sharing information with the local authority’s admissions team as they calculate the distances from your home to our school and store the details within the LA’s school admissions system.

If you wish to submit a school place appeal then this should also be directed to the school office using the form/information below.

Appeals at St Oswald’s School – procedure and timetable

Appeal notification form and further information

Further information about school place appeals can be found on Durham County Council’s website but please note that all forms regarding St Oswald’s must be returned to the school directly rather than the Council.

Admission outside normal age group

Requests from parents for places outside a normal age group will be considered carefully e.g. for those who have missed education due to ill health.  Each case will be considered on its own merits and circumstances. However, such admissions will not normally be agreed without a consensus that to do so would be in the pupil’s interests. It is recommended that parents discuss their wishes with the head teacher in advance of applying for a place.  Parents should apply in the normal way together with a written request that the child is admitted outside of his or her normal age group to the requested year group in September the following year providing supporting reasons for seeking a place outside of the normal age group.  The governors may ask relevant professionals for their opinion on the case.  It should be noted that if a place in the requested age group is refused, but one in the normal age group is offered, then there is no right of appeal.