Apply for primary 1

You can apply for a P1 school catchment place for your child if you currently live within East Renfrewshire Council or will be living within the authority by the start of the new session in August 2025.

Read our school admissions policy (PDF, 384 KB)(opens new window).

How to apply

Application process for P1 commencing August 2025 is now open. If you wish to apply for a current P1 place, please complete a current session application.

Parents and carers of children who will be five-years old between March 2025 and February 2026 should apply to register in either the local denominational or non-denominational school at this time.

Gaelic Medium Education is available for children in East Renfrewshire at Bun-Sgoil Ghàidhlig Thornliebank which is integrated with Thornliebank Primary School. Find out more about Gaelic Medium Education. 

It's important that an application is made for residents' preferred local catchment area school in the first instance, even if you plan to make a placing request for your child to attend another school or seek to defer your child's start to school.

You should apply for your local catchment school, even if you intend to educate your child privately or at home.

Applications for P1 school catchment places should be made by 19 January 2025.

Applications can be made after 19 January 2025, however, it is advisable to make your application by this date as this provides you with the optimum chance of securing a place in your preferred school.

If you wish to attend a school that is not within your catchment area or you will not be residing in East Renfrewshire in August 2025 you should complete a placing request application.

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Deferring entry

If a child is not yet 5 years old on 1 August in the year which they are supposed to commence their primary education, parents/carers have an automatic right to defer their child's entry to primary 1 until the following academic year. In such cases, children will be entitled to an additional year of funded early learning and childcare.

Parents of children who reach the age of five before 1 August have no automatic right to defer their child's entry to school.  It's expected that all children aged 5 before 1 August would start Primary 1 in that year.  Where a child has turned 5 prior to 1 August and the parent wishes to defer entry to primary school, an exceptional application should be made.  All exceptional applications are considered by a panel to decide if a further year of a nursery funding is appropriate. 

In either case you must still complete a Primary 1 catchment application where you can note your intention to defer/apply to defer.