Moving from primary to secondary school
Children in P7 are allocated a place at a secondary school. This place is based on their catchment area if your child is
- at a City of Edinburgh Council primary school
- living in the City of Edinburgh Council area.
In early November 2021 we sent letters to all parents at of children in P7 to confirm the allocated high school, based on the address held on the school record.
We aim to provide a place for your child at one of your catchment schools, if you will still be living at the same address at the start of session in August 2022.
If you live outside the catchment area of your preferred school you also need to make a placing request. You will only receive a place if one is available.
Section three of the Placing in Schools guide tells you more about the procedure for S1 places.
Download the Placing in Schools guide - PDF
Download the school placements privacy notice - PDF
About your place
The school we allocate depends on the primary school your child attends:
- we’ll allocate your catchment non-denominational high school if your child attends a non-denominational primary school
- we’ll allocate your catchment Roman Catholic (RC) high school if your child attends an RC primary 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, children are given a place in their non-denominational catchment school.
Section five of the Placing in Schools guide tells you more about how we allocate places in RC schools.
Download the Placing in Schools guide - PDF
Moving to a new address
If you are moving to a new address before 31 July 2022 you need to tell us.
Complete the Change of Address form as soon as you know your new address. You can fill in the form in advance of your move, provided you are moving before the school year starts in August 2022.
- If you currently live in the Edinburgh area, you should register for P1 using your current address AND complete the change of address form
- If you currently live outside the Edinburgh area, do not register - simply complete the change of address form.
We cannot guarantee a place at one of your catchment schools if you apply after 24 December 2021.
Section nine of the Placing in Schools guide tells you more about moving address.
Download the Placing in Schools guide - PDF
Request a different school
You can
- apply to change your allocated catchment school (e.g. from your non-denominational to your Roman Catholic catchment school)
- make one placing request for a school in a different catchment area.
If you request to change your catchment school AND make a placing request, the placing request will be treated as your first preference.
Section three of the Placing in Schools guide tells you more about how to change your catchment school.
Section four of the Placing in Schools guide tells you more about 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 School places FAQ for parents - PDF
Download our admissions policy - PDF
Download our admissions procedure - PDF
Contact us
Please use our contact form for any enquiries you have. Due to working remotely we can't take calls just now.
We receive a high volume of enquiries and we will get back to you as soon as we can.