Applications for September 2027 open on Tuesday 1 September. Bromsgrove's high schools admit at 13, so the 31 October deadline catches Year 8, not Year 6.

Applications for a September 2027 school place open on Tuesday 1 September 2026, Worcestershire County Council has confirmed. They will be made through a new Parent Portal going live that day.

Which deadline applies to your child depends on where in the Bromsgrove district you live. That is not true in most of England, and it is the part worth getting right.

The county council’s deadlines are:

Parents can name three preferences. The council says each one “will be considered equally”.

Timeline of the Worcestershire 2027 admissions round showing the portal opening on 1 September 2026, the high school deadline on 31 October and offers on 1 March, against the first and middle school deadline on 15 January and offers on 16 April

Why Bromsgrove’s October deadline catches Year 8

Most of the country transfers to secondary school at 11. Bromsgrove town does not. It runs a three-tier system, so its two high schools take pupils at 13.

South Bromsgrove High’s own admissions policy for 2027 is headed “Admissions Policy for entry at Age 13 September 2027”. It describes the school as “a 13-18 co-educational school with approximately 1350 students on roll”. It also states plainly that “Year 8 students will receive a letter in their middle schools containing information on how to apply”.

North Bromsgrove High’s 2027 policy is titled “Admission Policy for Year 9-11 2027 entry” and says “The Academy admits children into Year 9”.

So in Bromsgrove town, the 31 October deadline is for children currently in Year 8. A parent whose child is in Year 6 is not in the high school round at all. Their date is 15 January, for a middle school place.

Wythall and Hollywood work the other way

The district is not uniform. Woodrush High School, on Shawhurst Lane, is a secondary school with a statutory age range of 11 to 18 on the Department for Education’s register.

For families in the Wythall and Hollywood area, that means the 31 October deadline applies to children in Year 6, transferring at 11.

Two children of the same age, a few miles apart inside the same district, can therefore face deadlines ten weeks apart.

How many places are on offer

Both Bromsgrove high schools publish their admission numbers in the policies determined for 2027 entry:

School Entry year Published admission number
North Bromsgrove High Year 9 300
South Bromsgrove High Age 13 335

That is 635 places across the two schools. Both are non-selective. North Bromsgrove’s policy states it “welcomes applications for the admission of children regardless of aptitude, ability, special educational or other needs, disabilities or other protected characteristics”. South Bromsgrove says it has “no selection criteria which refer to ability or aptitude on entry”.

South Bromsgrove also notes that its open evening for the 2027/28 round “takes place in October”, and warns that application forms “should not be sent to the school directly”. They go to the county council.

What it means for you

  • If your child is in Year 8 at a middle school in the Bromsgrove area, your deadline is 31 October 2026. Apply in the autumn half term at the latest.
  • If your child is in Year 6 in Wythall or Hollywood, your deadline is also 31 October 2026.
  • If your child is in Year 4, you are applying for a middle school place by 15 January 2027.
  • If your child was born between 1 September 2022 and 31 August 2023, you are applying for a first or primary place by 15 January 2027.
  • The portal opens on 1 September and stays open until midnight on the relevant deadline day. Late applications are dealt with after the on-time ones.

Councillor Dr Dan Boatright-Greene, the cabinet member with responsibility for education, SEND and skills, said: “Applying on time gives families the best opportunity of securing a place at one of their preferred schools.”

The council advises naming your catchment school as one of the three preferences. That is the safety net if the others are oversubscribed.

Parents who cannot apply online can call the school admissions team on 01905 822700.

Catchment areas move house prices as well as school runs, and we track the district’s figures on our Bromsgrove house prices page. For the schools inspection picture across the district, see our report on the new Ofsted report cards.