While it is an exciting time, moving from P7-S1 can also be a nerve-raking transition for everyone. Therefore, we have provided all the information you will need to navigate this process.
Unlike P1, parents are not required to register for a secondary school place. All children in P7 are allocated a place at a secondary school and a letter will be sent to you around November, before they are due to start secondary school. This will confirm the secondary school they have been allocated based on the address held on school record.
The school allocated is the same denomination as your child’s primary school, so if your child attends:
- a non-denominational primary school CEC will allocate your catchment non-denominational high school
- an RC primary school CEC will allocate your catchment Roman Catholic (RC) high school. (Places at RC schools are not guaranteed, and we give priority to children who are baptised in the Roman Catholic faith. Where we cannot offer a place, most children are given a place in their non-denominational catchment school.)
You can ask the City of Edinburgh Council team to change the allocated catchment school if the other is your first preference.
If you would like your child to attend a secondary school that is not their current catchment area secondary school, you must apply for a placing request. This should be done in the November before they are due to leave primary school.
When you apply, you can only make one placing request initially. If your request is turned down you can apply for an alternative school at that time. If you request to change your catchment school (e.g to a catholic school) and make a placing request at the same time, the placing request will be treated as your first preference.
For the link to the placing request application, along with more information and support for the transition from P7-S1, please have a look at the City of Edinburgh Council’s ‘Applying to secondary school’ website.
Gracemount Primary School 