Flourishing together
Choosing a school is one of the most important decisions a family makes — and we would love to welcome you into ours.
Published admission number
30 places in Reception
Closing date for applications
15 January 2026
Preferences
Name three schools — all considered equally
Offers announced
Sent by the Local Authority in April
A warm welcome
We are always delighted to welcome new families to St Thomas's CE Primary School. Every child who joins us becomes part of a caring, inclusive community where we aim for each one to flourish — in their learning, their friendships and their sense of who they are.
Places at our school are allocated according to our Admissions Policy, which the school Governors set each year following consultation with the Diocesan Board of Education and the Local Authority. In short: any child with an Education, Health and Care Plan naming our school is admitted, and all other children are admitted unless we receive more applications than we have places. When that happens, places are offered in a clear order of priority — beginning with looked after children, then children with particular physical or medical needs, then pupil premium eligibility, and then family and catchment connections, described in full below.
There is no advantage in naming us as your first preference: the Governors consider every application equally. Applications for a Reception place are made through the Local Authority, and you will hear the outcome by letter in April. If you are ever unsure about anything on this page, please simply ask — our door is always open.
Arrange a visit
Simply complete the form below and one of the team will be in touch.
Our admissions policy
When more families apply than we have places for, the Governors allocate places using the following criteria, listed in order of priority. Children with a Statement of Special Educational Needs or an Education, Health and Care Plan naming St Thomas's are admitted whatever the circumstances.
Children in public care, children who have previously been in public care, and children adopted from state care in England or overseas.
Children whose physical or medical needs would make travelling to another school difficult. Written evidence from an appropriate professional is needed.
Children eligible for free school meals (now or in the last six years), the Early Years premium, or whose parent serves in the regular UK armed forces.
Children living in the catchment area with a brother or sister already at our school at the time of admission.
Children living in the catchment area who attend our own Nursery class.
Children living within the school's catchment area.
Children living outside the catchment area with a brother or sister already at our school at the time of admission.
Children living outside the catchment area who attend our own Nursery class.
Children living outside the school's catchment area.
Good to know
Where applications in the same priority category outstrip places, priority goes to the children who live closest — measured by the Local Authority's computerised mapping from the centre of your home to a common point on the school site. Age may be used as a tie-breaker in some categories.
The address on your application must be where your child actually lives — the address where they sleep and wake for the majority of the school week. The Governors may verify an address where there is any doubt, for example through your GP or child benefit records.
Children joining outside the normal admissions round are welcome whenever we have a vacancy in their year group. Come and visit the school and we will provide admission details. If we cannot offer a place, you will be told why and informed of your right of appeal.
Children normally begin school in September following their fourth birthday. If you wish, admission can be deferred until later in the year — or until the term in which your child reaches compulsory school age — and part-time attendance can be requested in the meantime. In most children's interests, the Governors recommend deferring full-time education no later than the start of the Spring Term.
If we cannot offer your child a place because the school is full, you have a right of appeal to an independent panel, organised on the Governors' behalf by the Local Authority at Carlisle. You should write to the Clerk to the Governors within 20 school days of the notification, setting out your grounds of appeal in writing. Appeals for the normal round are usually heard before the end of the summer term; in-year appeals within 30 school days.
Families who are not offered a place may join a waiting list. Names are kept in the order of the admissions criteria — so a family newly arrived in the area may sit higher than someone who has waited longer. If a place becomes available it is offered to the child at the top of the list, whatever appeals have been lodged. Lists remain open for the whole of the first term in the year they relate to.
Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 classes may not contain more than 30 pupils with a single teacher. In a limited set of exceptional circumstances — such as children admitted through appeal, twins and other multiple births, or families of UK service personnel moving into the area — a child may be admitted as an "excepted pupil" until class numbers fall back within the limit.
Parents may ask for a child to be admitted to a year group outside their normal age range — for instance where a child is gifted or has particular social or medical circumstances. Requests are considered individually, on their merits and in the child's best interests, alongside supporting evidence such as professional or medical views.
Two things we would hate you to miss
A place in our Nursery Class does not guarantee a place in Reception — you must make a separate application for Reception. And if an application is found to have used misleading information, such as an incorrect address, the Governors will withdraw the place and reconsider all applications fairly.
The full document
This page is a friendly summary. The complete Admissions Policy for Academic Year 2025–2026 sets out every detail, as agreed by the Governors.
Catchment area maps are available to view in school · Policy set by the Governors of St Thomas's CE Primary School
