Ealing Primary School Places 2027: Apply by 15 January

Applications for a reception place at an Ealing primary school in September 2027 are open now. They close on Friday 15 January 2027.

This year’s intake is children born between 1 September 2022 and 31 August 2023. Children in Year 2 at an infant school who move to a junior school in September 2027 apply the same way. The dates are on the council’s primary admissions page. Ealing Council reminded parents on 29 October.

Most Ealing families get the school they want. But at 17 of the borough’s primary schools, there were more applicants than places in 2026, and a child living a few hundred metres too far away missed out.

The key dates

You apply once, on the London eAdmissions website, even if you want a school in another borough. You can change your choices online up to the closing date. Late applications are only considered after offer day, the council says.

How the six choices work

You can list up to six schools, in or outside Ealing, but not private schools. Rank them in the order you really want them.

The Starting Primary School 2027 prospectus explains the rules. The main ones are:

• you get one offer only: the highest-ranked school on your list that has a place for you
• listing a school first does not give you priority over a child who listed it sixth
• if you do not qualify for any school on your list, you will not get an offer from any of them
• the prospectus advises using at least one choice on a school where you are likely to get in

Faith schools usually want a supplementary information form as well. It goes to the school, not the council, and must also arrive by 15 January.

The schools that ran out of places in 2026

The prospectus publishes a statistics table for every primary school. It gives the number of places for 2027, how many times the school was named on application forms in 2026, and the distance from the school of the last child offered a place.

Of the 66 schools in the table, 49 offered a place to everyone who wanted one in 2026. The other 17 had to turn children away. Fifteen of those filled their last places on distance, and two faith schools stopped at a faith criterion.

The tightest were:

Fielding was named on more application forms than any other primary in the borough, 460 times for 120 places.

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The other distance cut-offs were Little Ealing (0.693 miles), Gifford (0.746), Montpelier (0.825), Mount Carmel Catholic (0.911), Derwentwater (0.950), Christ the Saviour CofE (1.019), Oaklands (1.138) and St John’s (1.291). St Vincent’s Catholic Primary stopped at its criterion 8, other Christian applicants, and Holy Family Catholic Primary at its criterion 7.

Two warnings about these numbers. “Times named” counts every preference, first to sixth, so it is not the number of families who wanted that school most. And a cut-off moves every year with the number of children living nearby, so treat it as a guide, not a promise.

Appeals almost never succeed

The same table gives appeal outcomes for 2025. Families lodged 22 appeals for reception places at nine Ealing schools. All 22 were heard. None was upheld.

Fielding had the most, with seven. Ark Priory had three. The two schools where numbers were too small to publish, Ark Byron and St Vincent’s, are marked with an asterisk.

Some schools have spare places

At the other end, a handful of schools were named only slightly more often than they have places. Alec Reed Academy in Northolt was named 94 times for 90 places, West Twyford 62 times for 60, and Blair Peach and St Raphael’s 65 times each for 60.

The council says Ealing, like many London boroughs, has seen a significant drop in primary pupil numbers over the past decade. It is consulting on whether to close Viking Primary in Northolt and move its pupils to Downe Manor. That consultation closes on 13 November. Viking is still listed in the 2027 prospectus, with 30 reception places. The prospectus was published in August, before the consultation opened.

How Ealing compared in 2026

On offer day in April 2026, the council said that 90.78% of Ealing families were offered their first choice of primary school. The London average was 88.39%, and Ealing was among the top ten London boroughs.

That leaves roughly one family in eleven who did not get their first choice.

What it means for you

• Apply before 15 January. A late application goes to the back of the queue, after every on-time applicant has been offered a place.
• Check the distances for the schools you like. If you live further away than last year’s cut-off, you may still get in, but have a nearer school on your list as well.
• Use all six choices if you can. If you do not qualify for any school on your list, the council will not offer you one of them; the prospectus advises including a school where you have a realistic chance.
• Faith schools need their own form. Ask each school for it.
• Moving house? Tell the admissions service, and be living at the new address, by 11 February 2027.

Visit the schools first. The prospectus tells parents to contact schools directly about visits, and the council publishes a list of primary open day events. For older children, see our guide to Ealing high school places for 2027, and for holiday dates, Ealing school term dates.

Sources

• Ealing Council, Starting Primary School 2027 prospectus (PDF), statistics table on pages 6 and 7
• Ealing Council, Apply for primary school (reception class) or infant to junior school transfer
• Around Ealing, School days on their way, 29 October 2026
• Around Ealing, A positive start for families: primary school offers, 20 April 2026
• Ealing Council, Primary school open day events (PDF)