Guide · Parents · Wales
School admissions in Wales
Common offer dates, applying to your council, Welsh-medium and English-medium choices.
By the Pyxion Learn team · Checked 30 October 2026
Wales has no state grammar schools: every state secondary is comprehensive. Parents still choose between schools, and between languages.
Applying
You apply to your council, which publishes its own application deadline for primary and secondary places, usually in the autumn or winter before your child starts.
Offers are made on common offer dates set by regulations:
- Secondary: 1 March (or the next working day)
- Primary: 16 April (or the next working day)
When schools are oversubscribed, each council or school applies its published criteria, often catchment area first, then siblings and distance.
Welsh-medium, English-medium and dual-stream
Schools in Wales are categorised by the language they teach in: Welsh-medium, English-medium, or dual language. Welsh-medium education is open to every family, whether or not you speak Welsh at home. Our school pages show each school’s language category.
After 16
Students can stay at a school sixth form or move to a further education college. University applications go through UCAS: see key dates for Wales.