National Offer Day for London state secondary schools

On March 1^st each year, thousands of parents woke up anxious and nervous after a sleepless night. Why?

After spending days and weeks studying school leaflets and admission criteria, gathering information and documentation, filling out application forms to meet the deadline application last October, the big day had finally come: on March 1st, they found out in which secondary state school their children will go to from September.

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National Offer Day

Every year in England, two National Offer Days take place: one is for the secondary transfer and takes place at the beginning of March, the other one is for Primary admissions and occurs mid-April.

Application deadlines for state schools

Any parent wishing their children to be state educated must complete an online national admission process opened from September to January for the Reception Admissions (children aged 4 to 5), and from September to October only for entry into secondary (Year 7, children aged 11-12).

The application process allows families to list several state school choices, in order of preference.

Preparing for the secondary state school applications

For the secondary transfer, because the time frame for admissions is so tight, parents should make their search one or two years ahead to make sure they understand their local school offer, understand the tricky admission criteria (distance, faith, ability, siblings) and have time to visit the different schools.

It is really a full time and stressful job for busy mums or dads with lots of emotional pressure at stake.

The chances of getting into a first choice state secondary school

In recent years, the percentage of families securing their first-choice secondary school place in London has trended downward. In 2025, about 71.6% of London families secured their preferred Year 7 placement, a modest uptick from the previous year, but still under the national average hollandparkschool.co.uk+15The Guardian+15The Times+15. Earlier, in 2024, just 70% of families in the capital received their first choice—well below the national average of over 80% The Guardian.

Once again, most years, the best state secondary schools in London are oversubscribed:

• Holland Park School remains significantly oversubscribed, typically attracting at least four times the number of applications as there are places (with a PAN of 240) GCH+15hollandparkschool.co.uk+15hollandparkschool.co.uk+15.

• The Grey Coat Hospital, as a highly sought-after comprehensive school in Westminster, remains heavily oversubscribed, although precise application-versus-place figures for 2025 aren’t published publicly

Conclusion

According to our experience, what this means is that when parents do their research properly and apply according to the school criteria, there is still a good hope to get a place in the top 3 preferred schools.

How Simply London can help

Our schools’ experts can provide personalised guidance and support on the state school admissions process. Using their knowledge and experience, they can help you select and apply for schools that match your child’s educational needs so they can excel. Contact us today, or schedule a free call with us here to discuss how we can help you to find your ideal school.

Need help bringing your family to the UK? Our sister site Simply UK Visa offers expert guidance on family immigration. Because getting settled starts with getting here.

Article published 3rd March 2017, and updated in August 2025.