Admissions

To see our Admissions Policy, please click here.

Admissions into our Reception Class (Sunshines)

Children are eligible to start in a school reception class in the academic year in which they turn 5. The academic year runs from September 1st to August 31st, meaning that any child who is already 4 on 1st September and will turn 5 before 31st August the next year will be eligible for a Reception place that year.  by law, children MUST be in full-time education by the start of the term following their 5th birthday.

Please contact our Early Years Office for any information you require about the school or the process of admission.

Every year, we hold an Open Evening in November for the parents of children who will be of school age the following September. We advertise this locally, and invitiations are  sent to families with children attending our Puddles nursery and families with children on our interest list.

All applications for places are handled by North Yorkshire Local Authority and should be undertaken through the North Yorkshire Schools Admissions Page . If you do not currently live within North Yorkshire, you must make your application to your own local authority, but you can name this school as your preference.

Key dates for September 2025 School Admissions:

• 12th October 2024: Applications window opens
• 15th January 2025: Deadline for applications
• 16th April 2025: National offer Day (September 2025 School Places allocated by local authorities).

Moving Schools 

If you are moving your child to a new school either at the start of a new year or during the academic year then you should contact the North Yorkshire Schools Admissions team.  Information about changing schools is available on the North Yorkshire Local Authority website.

Athelstan Primary School has a maximum admission number of 60 children per year. That means we have 60 places in each year group, with the children split into two classes per year. It is not normal practice for a child to start at Athelstan until approval has been obtained from Schools Admissions.

New families are welcome to come and have a look around the school, please contact the school for more information and make an appointment through the school office.

Appeals for places

Athelstan is a popular school in a vibrant and growing village so we frequently find year groups full or oversubscribed. If we have reached our maximum admission limit (60) then the Local Authority would normally refuse admission.

As parents or carers you have the right to appeal against the decision. You will need to contact Schools Admissions who will send you details of how to appeal against the decision and guidance on the admissions criteria and appeals procedures. In certain circumstances the Local Authority will admit individuals even when the admissions number has been reached.  You can see the North Yorkshire Schools Admissions Policies and Oversubscriptions Criteria here. 

Moving to Secondary School 

Children transitioning into Secondary School will receive  information from Schools Admissions about secondary place preferences at the start of the Autumn Term in Year 6.  The applications window is from mid-September to the end of October.  You can find out more about the process of applying for secondary school places on the North Yorkshire School Admissions website.

Contact North Yorkshire School Admissions

The School Admissions Team can be contacted by e mail (schooladmissions@northyorks.gov.uk), phone (01609 533679) or through the North Yorkshire School Admissions website.