Joining Our School

We warmly welcome enquiries from families who are considering Southill Primary School for their child.

Visit Southill Primary School

We hold a school tour for prospective parents and carers at 11:00am every Friday.

The tour is an opportunity to see the school in action, meet members of our team and learn more about life at Southill.

Please contact the school office to book your place:

Telephone: 01305 773144
Email: office@southill.dorset.sch.uk

Attending a tour does not form part of the admissions process or affect the priority given to an application.

Admissions authority

Southill Primary School is a community school for children aged 4–11.

Dorset Council is the admissions authority for the school and manages:

• applications for Reception

• applications to join the school during the academic year

• waiting lists

• the allocation of school places

• admission appeals

Southill Primary School does not decide which children are offered places.

Our Published Admission Number, known as the PAN, is 30 pupils for entry into Reception.

View Dorset Council’s school admissions information and apply for a place

Starting school in Reception

Children normally start Reception in the September following their fourth birthday.

Applications must be made through the local authority where the child lives, even if the family wishes to apply for a school in another local authority area.

For families living in Dorset, applications are made through Dorset Council. The closing date is normally 15 January in the calendar year in which the child is due to start school.

For example, applications for children starting Reception in September 2027 must be submitted by 15 January 2027.

Applying after the closing date may reduce the likelihood of being offered a preferred school.

Apply for a Reception school place through Dorset Council

Deferred, part-time and delayed entry

Parents and carers may request that their child:

• starts Reception later in the same academic year

• attends part-time until reaching compulsory school age

• is admitted outside their normal age group

Different arrangements apply to summer-born children—those born between 1 April and 31 August—whose parents wish them to start Reception after their fifth birthday.

Requests are considered individually by Dorset Council as the admissions authority. Further information and application arrangements are available through Dorset Council.

Read Dorset Council’s guidance about delayed and deferred entry

In-year applications

An in-year application is an application for a child to join the school after the beginning of Reception or during an academic year.

All in-year applications for Southill Primary School must be made through Dorset Council. Families should not complete a school application form directly with Southill.

Families considering an in-year application are welcome to attend one of our Friday school tours. However, a visit or discussion with the school does not constitute an application and cannot guarantee that a place will be available.

Apply for an in-year school place

How places are allocated

Where there are more applications than available places, Dorset Council applies its published oversubscription criteria.

Children with an Education, Health and Care Plan that names Southill Primary School are admitted through the statutory Education, Health and Care Plan process. Other applications are then considered using Dorset Council’s published criteria.

The school does not operate its own admissions criteria. Attendance at a local nursery or pre-school does not guarantee a place at Southill.

Read Dorset Council’s determined admission arrangements for 2026/27

Catchment area

Living within Southill Primary School’s catchment area does not guarantee that a place will be offered. However, a child’s home address and whether it falls within the catchment area may affect the priority given to an application under Dorset Council’s oversubscription criteria.

Check Southill Primary School’s catchment area

Waiting lists

When a place cannot be offered, parents and carers can ask Dorset Council for their child to be added to the waiting list.

Waiting lists are maintained in accordance with Dorset Council’s admission arrangements. A child’s position may move up or down when other children join or leave the list because places are prioritised using the published oversubscription criteria.

Being on a waiting list does not guarantee that a place will become available.

Find out about school admission waiting lists

Admission appeals

Parents and carers have the right to appeal when Dorset Council refuses an application for a place at Southill Primary School.

Appeals are considered by an independent appeal panel. Information about the process, deadlines and online appeal form is available from Dorset Council.

Appeal a school admission decision

Admission arrangements

Southill Primary School follows the admission arrangements determined by Dorset Council for community and voluntary-controlled schools.

Please use the links below to view the arrangements that apply to the relevant year of entry:

• Dorset Council admission arrangements for 2026/27

• Dorset Council school admissions policies

  Dorset Council school admissions parent guide

For advice about an application, allocation, waiting list or appeal, please contact:

Dorset Council School Admissions Team
Telephone: 01305 221060
Email: admissions@dorsetcouncil.gov.uk

The Southill Primary School office can assist with general enquiries and booking school tours, but cannot advise families about the likelihood of obtaining a place or make decisions about applications.