St Paul's Catholic Primary School, V.A.

Journeying together in faith, hope and love.

Admissions

For any parents in Adel, Alwoodley, Bramhope, Meanwood, Moortown and Shadwell, please consider our school for your child. Please come and look around the school and find out all about St Paul's. Thank you. Mr Bowker. Headteacher.  

Admission Arrangements for St Paul's Catholic Primary School, VA, for all new Reception starters in September 2025.

This is the new policy and SIF for parents to use. 

If you are applying for a place at any Catholic Primary School you should complete a separate SIF form and send it back directly to the school. This is in addition to the online Admissions form completed on the Leeds City Council Website. Please ring the school office 01132939901 if you are in any doubt. Many thanks, Mr Bowker. Headteacher.  

If printing a paper copy of the SIF, please return this to the school office. Thank you.

Word version for parents who would like to complete an electronic copy. Please email the SIF to: school.office@stpaulscps.org.uk Thank you. 

Leeds City Council Admissions information can be found here:

 https://www.leeds.gov.uk/schools-and-education/school-admissions/apply-for-a-primary-school  

Admission Policy and Supplementary Information

The Academy Council of St Paul’s Catholic Primary School, VA is the school's admissions authority. 

 

How to apply for a September 2025 place

If you are applying for a Reception place for September 2025, all applications are made in advance. Offers are made by the Local Authority on national offer day.

You must apply to the local authority who empties your bins. If this is Leeds, go to www.leeds.gov.uk/apply. The website is a composite prospectus for all Leeds schools, and this includes:  

  • all the steps you need to go through to make an application
  • the key dates
  • a search tool to see if your home address gives any higher priority for admission to any school(s)
  • an explanation about how places are offered if there are more applications than spaces (oversubscribed)
  • the online application portal - apply online and you will be sent your offer by email
  • a summary of each school’s individual admission policy criteria
  • data about who got a place in the last 3 years - this will help you work out if there is a reasonable chance of your child qualifying for a place
  • Information about applying under a specific admission criteria (such as your child being previously looked after). It is important to ensure you submit all supporting evidence by the deadline to show you meet any such criteria

You can also watch the Leeds City Council school admissions video for more information.  (Note to schools: hyperlink is https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WRU1SrS7iJE  )

The council’s social media pages will also tell you about Q&A sessions where you can ask questions.

You can also see information about our school, including previous admission data, on our school page on the Leeds City Council’s website

https://www.leeds.gov.uk/schools-and-education/school-admissions/check-school-details/display-details?schoolid=241

 

Application timetable - The below timetable applies to applications made to Leeds City Council. If you apply to another local authority, they may have different dates.

 

Children born between 1 September 2020 and 31 August 2021 are due to start reception in September 2025

1 November 2024 

 

Applications open. You can apply online at www.leeds.gov.uk/apply 

 

15 January 2025

 

National deadline for applying for Reception 2025

 

12 February 2025

 

Deadline for making online application.

 

From 15 January 2025 to 16 April 2025 any late applications should be sent to Leeds Admissions for consideration.

 

16 April 2025

 

National offer day (first working day after 16 April) 

 

16 April 2025

 

Waiting lists formed by Leeds Admissions team.  

20 May 2025

 

Any Reception appeal submitted by this date will be heard before September.

 

Leeds City Council arranges our appeals.

May to end of August 2025

 

Any available places automatically allocated from waiting lists by the local authority

 

Lower preference school offers are also withdrawn automatically (even if accepted)

 

June to July 2025

 

Appeals heard by independent appeal panels

 

September 2025

 

Start primary school- staggered over 3 days. Quicker than most other schools in Leeds. 

 

In-year applications

If you are moving into Leeds or want to change schools in Leeds, you need to make a school transfer – often called an in-year application.

This includes

  • applications for a place in Reception after the start of term in September
  • and applications for a place in all other year groups (year 1-6)

How to apply for an in-year place

Leeds City Council has delegated the decision making for in-year applications to our Governing Body.  

You can apply for a place online using the Leeds in-year application form at Before you move schools (leeds.gov.uk).You can apply for places at our school and any other Leeds schools who are part of the centralised Leeds in-year application scheme at the same time.

 

If you have moved house, please upload evidence of the house move with the online application. You can find out what you need to provide on the above website.

 

We have to offer places by applying our admission policy criteria to your child’s application and we will contact you with our decision about offering you a place.  We will tell you our decision no later than 15 school days from when you apply.

 

If we cannot offer you a place, we will

  • write to you to explain the reasons
  • explain how you can appeal and
  • add your child to our waiting list in case a place becomes free.

Our waiting lists are kept until end of each school year. You will need to make a new application if you want to be on the waiting list for the following school year.

Appeals

If we cannot offer you a place, you will have the right of appeal. The appeal panel is independent of the school and council and their decision is legally binding.

Before you appeal you:

  • should accept any place that you have been offered in case your appeal is not successful
  • should think about why you are appealing and check if it is likely to be successful
  • could read the advice for appealing school places on GOV.UK
  • could get independent advice on making an appeal from a charity

Leeds City Council arranges our appeals, and you can find the appeal form at School appeals (leeds.gov.uk)    

If you are appealing for a reception place for September 2023, you need to submit your appeal by the deadline to ensure the appeal will be heard before the summer holidays.

Appeals for Reception, Year 1, and Year 2these classes are limited to 30 pupils per teacher by law. This means that appeals for these places are less likely to be successful.

 

If our school refuses your child a place because of this limit and you want to appeal, you will need to make an infant class size appeal. You can see if your reasons are likely to be successful by reading the Department for Education's information about infant class size appeals.

 

Other appeals - You can appeal because you want your child to attend a particular school. These are successful if the panel agree that the reasons for your appeal outweigh the school's decision not to admit any more children.

Wanting your child to go to a school because you think it is the best one in the area is not likely to convince the panel that your child should get a place there.

 

School boundary map (for reference)


School Catchment Map

Admission Arrangements for St Paul's Catholic Primary School VA for new Reception starters in September 2024. This round is now closed.  

Previous Admission Policies for 2023/2024 and 224/2025 are below. (Only needed for in-year applications and/or school appeals.) Please use 2025/26 policy above for all new school admissions. Thank you.

Admission Arrangements for St Paul's Catholic Primary School, VA, for all new Reception starters in September 2023.

This is the current policy for 2023 and SIF for parents to use. 

Get help with your application

For help with your application, contact Leeds City Council Admissions Team on:

Phone: 0113 222 4414  

Email: startingprimary@leeds.gov.uk 

 

Waiting Lists

Please note: St Paul’s Catholic Primary School, VA, Alwoodley, Leeds, will only hold the details of a child on their waiting list for one academic year. If parents wish for their child to remain on the school’s waiting list, a new application will need to be made. Waiting lists will reset on 1st September each year.

Open Day information for St Paul's Catholic Primary School VA