Apply for a school catchment place
Information about catchment area schools in East Renfrewshire and how to apply.
Each residential property located within East Renfrewshire has a catchment non-denominational and Roman Catholic primary and secondary school assigned to it. If you live in East Renfrewshire or are moving into the area you should apply for a catchment place at the Primary or Secondary school associated with your property.
Although the Council aims to provide enough places for all children at the preferred catchment primary and secondary school, living within the delineated catchment area of a school does not guarantee a child a place at a catchment school.
If you wish to attend a school that is not within your catchment area you should complete a placing request application. You are advised that you should also submit a catchment application, as there is no guarantee that a placing request will be successful.
You can apply for a school catchment place in the current session if:
- you already live within the catchment area and your child does not currently attend another East Renfrewshire school
- you're moving into the authority, have secured a property and have a confirmed entry date or are an East Renfrewshire resident moving from one catchment area to another. Please note, we are unable to accept applications more than 4 weeks in advance of taking up residence.
A child should start school if they turn 5 between 1 March of that year and the last day of February the following year. You can apply for a primary 1 school catchment place for your child if you live in, or will be living in, East Renfrewshire by the start of the new session in August. Online applications should be made via the Primary one webpage. If your child is not yet 5 years old on 1 August 2024, you can defer their entry to primary school by a year. If your child is deferring entry to school for a year, you will get an extra year of early learning and childcare funding. You need to let us know if you want to defer your child's entry to school so that we can allocate them another year at nursery. Even if you are deferring your child's entry to P1 you must submit a P1 application and record your request to defer. You can make a request for early entry to school for a child whose 5th birthday falls after the last day in February. Contact the Educations Admissions team to find out more. The Council also offers Gaelic Medium Primary Education at Bun-Sgoil Ghàidhlig Thornliebank. If making an application for GMPE you will also be asked to record your preferred English medium catchment school. Further details on GMPE can be found on our Gaelic Medium Primary Education page
Deferring entry to primary school (P1)
Early entry for P1
Gaelic Medium Primary Education (GMPE)
If your child already attends a school in East Renfrewshire as part of the P7 to S1 transfer process, you'll be given details of the S1 application process in November or December of their P7 year. You're not required to complete the application below if your child is currently at an East Renfrewshire school.
If you live in East Renfrewshire and your child doesn't attend an East Renfrewshire primary school you should apply for an S1 place in the December before your child is due to transfer to secondary school in the August.
You can apply for a catchment place in a primary or secondary school commencing in the new session if:
- you already live within the catchment area and your child does not currently attend an East Renfrewshire school
- you are moving into the authority, have secured a property and have a confirmed entry date before the beginning of the new session
Supporting Catchment Place Documentation
You'll be required to provide proof of your child's date of birth and supporting documentation as evidence you and your child are/will be residing in the catchment area of the school applied for. The documentation required will depend on your circumstances. Full details of the documents required will be listed on the acknowledgement email sent to you after you have completed the online application (we'll aim to send you the acknowledgement email within 5 days of the application being submitted).
You and your child must be residing in the catchment area of the school and all of the necessary documentation must be provided before your child can start school.
Please note, we can ask for more evidence or information when proof of residency isn't satisfied.
