Tell the school and your local authority immediately, in writing. Moving house changes your catchment and your distance measurement, both of which decide places, and the duty to notify sits with you.
Failing to report a move is the one version of this that ends badly.
The duty to tell them, and what happens if you do not
Admissions policies are blunt about this. Haberdashers' Adams requires parents to notify the school promptly of any change of address or circumstances, especially where the change affects the chances of securing a place, and states that the school may withdraw an offer where relevant changes were not notified promptly, or where false, incorrect or misleading information led to a place being offered.
King Edward VI Handsworth's determined admissions policy uses the same principle: an offer will be withdrawn if it was made on the basis of an incorrect, fraudulent or misleading application.
So a place obtained on an old address is not safe. It can be taken back, including after your child has started.
Which address counts
The address used is the child's main residence at the point the application is considered. Where parents share care, it is normally the address where the child lives for the majority of the school week in term time, and you may be asked for documentary evidence.
Keep council tax bills, tenancy agreements or completion statements. Authorities do check, and the checks are not a formality.
Timing changes what happens
| When you move | What normally happens |
|---|---|
| Before the test registration deadline | Your new address is used throughout, including for test centre allocation |
| Between registration and 31 October | Notify both the school and your authority; the new address is normally used |
| After 31 October, before offers | Notify immediately with evidence; it may or may not be applied in time |
| After an offer | Notify anyway; the offer stands unless it was obtained on wrong information |
Adams' policy states that applicants who move from one of its designated primary schools after the registration deadline will be considered from their new address with immediate effect, which shows how quickly a move can change your category.
If you move to a different local authority
You apply through the authority you live in. If you move across a boundary before the 31 October deadline, your application normally transfers to your new home authority, so contact both of them promptly.
You do not need to apply separately to the authority a school sits in. One form, your home authority, as our guide to applying across areas explains.
What to actually do
- Email your home local authority with the new address and the date you moved.
- Email every school on your preference list separately. Do not assume the authority passes it on.
- Attach evidence, such as a tenancy agreement or completion statement.
- Recheck catchment, by ward, for every school on the list. It may have changed.
- Keep a copy of everything, with dates.
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Tell them in writing, and keep the dates
Families worry that reporting a move will damage their application. The far bigger risk runs the other way. A place offered on an address you no longer live at can be taken back, and that can happen after your child has started at the school, which is about the worst outcome in this whole process.
What I would do is email everyone separately. Your own council, and then each school on your preference list individually. Do not assume the authority forwards it, because the school is often the body actually ranking your child.
And recheck your catchment afterwards, by ward, for every school on the list. A move of a couple of streets can put you inside one catchment and outside another, which changes the category your child sits in. That is worth knowing in November rather than in March.
Mushtaque Ahmed, Founder of GrammarPath and Bright Mentors
Frequently asked questions
What happens if you move house after applying for a school place?
You must tell both your home local authority and every school on your preference list, in writing and with evidence. Moving changes your catchment and distance measurement, and whether the new address is applied depends largely on when in the cycle you move.
Can a school withdraw an offer if I moved house?
Yes, if the offer was made on the basis of incorrect or misleading information, including an address you no longer live at. Policies state that an offer may be withdrawn where a change of address was not notified promptly, and that can happen after a child has started.
Which address is used for a school application?
The child's main residence when the application is considered. Where parents share care it is normally where the child lives for the majority of the school week during term time, and you may be asked for documentary evidence such as a council tax bill or tenancy agreement.
What if I move to a different local authority before the deadline?
You apply through the authority you live in, so your application normally transfers to the new home authority if you move before 31 October. Contact both authorities promptly, and remember you never apply separately to the authority a school happens to sit in.
Does moving house improve my chances of a grammar school place?
It can, because catchment and distance both affect which category a child falls into and how they rank within it. But it must be a genuine move: a place obtained on an address you do not actually live at can be withdrawn at any point.