Enrolment and Placing Requests for Schools in Dundee

If so, you may enrol them from Monday 1 December 2025

The next school session begins on Tuesday 18 August 2026. Parents whose children will be five on or before that date must enrol their children for school by Monday 2 February 2026.

These children are eligible to start school on Tuesday 18 August 2026 and you should enrol your child for primary school.

However, if your child is 5 after 18 August 2026 you may wish to delay your child’s entry to school if you think that they are not ready to start. You should discuss this with staff at your child’s nursery who will be able to help you make the best decision for your child. If you decide to delay your child’s entry to primary school you will need to withdraw your child’s enrolment application.

Parents/Carers can enrol their children between Monday 1 December 2025 and Monday 2 February 2026.

Parents should contact staff at the appropriate catchment primary school for your address between Monday 1 December 2025 and Monday 2 February 2026, who will tell you their arrangements for enrolment. When you enrol your child, the school will advise if you need to provide any documentation. If you are enrolling at a denominational school and your child has been baptised you should provide the baptismal certificate. Schools will not enrol children after Monday 2 February 2026 - after that you will need to complete a Placing Request online. The request will be considered as 'late' and processed after all the on-time enrolments have been completed. 

Although it is usual for children to attend their local catchment area school, parents/carers have the right to request that their children be considered for a place in a different primary school. This is called a Placing Request. Education Authorities have a duty to grant placing requests wherever possible. We will try to grant your request, provided there are places at the school which you choose. Where the demand for places exceeds the number of available places in a primary school it is not possible to grant all such placing requests.

Placing requests for start of P1 for any school should be made online and should be made between Monday 1 December 2025 and Monday 2 February 2026. 

Late Applications: Requests made after 2 February 2026 will still be considered, up until the start of the new session, but will only be processed after all of the on-time applications. It is possible that places in certain schools may no longer be available once on-time applications have been processed.

Further information, including how decisions in relation to placing request are made, is available within the Placing Request Guidance.

All schools publish Handbooks (available on this website) and School Improvement Reports, which contain information that can be useful to parents. Please contact schools by phone or email or via their website to obtain this information.

Although it is usual for children to attend their local catchment area school, parents/carers have the right to request that their children be considered for a place in a different secondary school. This is called a placing request. Education Authorities have a duty to grant placing requests wherever possible. We will try to grant your request, provided there are places at the school which you choose. Where the demand for places exceeds the number of available places in a secondary school it is not possible to grant all such placing requests.

If you would like your child to transfer to any other Dundee secondary school (this includes their alternative local catchment school - non-denominational or denominational) you will need to submit a Placing Request online before 2 Feb 2026.

If your child currently attends a Primary School out with Dundee and you wish them to attend a Dundee Secondary School you are required to submit a Placing Request regardless of your home address.

Placing Requests should be made between Monday 1 December 2025 and Monday 2 February 2026. 

Late Applications: Requests made after 2 February 2026 will still be considered, up until the start of the new session, but will only be processed after all of the on-time applications. It is possible that places in certain schools may no longer be available once on-time applications have been processed.

Further information, including how decisions in relation to placing request are made, is available within the Placing Request Guidance.

All schools publish handbooks and school improvement reports which contain information that can be useful to parents. School websites also provide a wealth of information. Please contact schools directly to obtain this information.