Apply for P1
If your child's birth date is between
- 1 March 2021 and 28 February 2022 - they are due to start primary school in August 2026 and should by now be registered for school. Enrolment and placing requests are closed. Contact us as soon as possible if you need a place before term begins on 12 August 2026.
- 1 March 2022 and 28 February 2023 - they are due to start primary school in August 2027 and you must register your child for P1 when registration opens in November 2026.
If you live outside the catchment area of your preferred school you need to make a placing request. You will only receive a place if one is available.
You can apply to defer your child's entry to P1 for a year. Applications have closed but a late request may be considered. Read about deferring entry to P1.
If your child was born after 28 February 2023 you can request they start a year early. This is called Early Admission to Primary and is assessed by the Education Resource Group. Learn more about early entry to Primary 1
Section 2 of the Placing in Schools guide tells you more about applying for P1.
Download the Placing in Schools guide - PDF
Decisions on school places
Decisions on non-catchment placing requests and requests for Roman Catholic schools were made on 13 March 2026.
Register for P1
Registration for P1 in 2026/ 27 has now closed. If you haven't registered yet, please contact us.
P1 registration for the 2027/ 28 year opens in November 2026.
You will be asked to choose your preferred catchment school of three. Your
- non-denominational catchment school
- Roman Catholic (RC) catchment school
- Edinburgh's Gaelic primary school, Bun-sgoil Taobh na Pàirce.
No knowledge of the language is needed for entry to the Gaelic school. If you live outside the City of Edinburgh area you can submit a placing request for Taobh na Pàirce in November 2026.
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.
Section 5 of the Placing in Schools guide tells you more about how we allocate places in RC schools.
Download the Placing in Schools guide - PDF
Request a school outside your catchment area
If your preference is a school in a different catchment area, you can make a placing request for that school at the same time you register for P1.
You can only apply for one school initially, but if your request is turned down you can apply for an alternative school at that time.
Section 4 of the Placing in Schools guide outlines the procedures for placing requests.
Download the Placing in Schools guide - PDF
Further reading
Read Choosing a School: A Guide for Parents on the Scottish Government website.
Download
- the P1 school places FAQ for parents - PDF
- our admissions policy - PDF
- our admissions procedure - PDF
- the school placements privacy notice - PDF
Contact us
Please use our contact form for any enquiries you have.