13th March 2025
Secondary School places have just been announced for September 2025 entrance, and as Property Buying Agents, Surrey HomeSearch know that many families will be looking ahead to school applications for 2026 entry. Many buyers will be driven by the catchment area for the top state schools in Surrey, and it is never too early to start looking!
For admission in September 2026, applications will need to be submitted in October 2025 for secondary school and in January 2026 for admission to primary school. So if you are thinking about moving home for a specific school, now is the time to take those initial steps.
1. Make sure you visit the schools in your preferred search area. While one school may be rated 'Good' or 'Outstanding', it may not be the right fit for your child. By visiting all of the schools, you will get a feel if this school works best for your child and family.
2. Consider the catchment areas for previous years entry, to ensure that you are fully informed of the catchment area. Most schools in Surrey have a "closest distance to" policy rather than a specified catchment area and therefore they can vary from year to year, but it is good to have an understanding of how places were allocated in previous years.
3. Consider how your child will get to school and whether this rules any potential areas out. Can you safely walk to school or are you happy to drive? As the children get older, they will look to be more independent. Can they easily walk / cycle to school? Can they meet friends easily? Whilst living in the middle of nowhere might be attractive, this may mean that your children are largely dependent on you for a lot of lifts!
How does the area work for you? As parents, we want the best for our children, but the location also needs to work for you, both now and in the future. Can you easily commute to work? Is there a community feel, if this is what you are looking for? Can you just pop along the road for that coffee, if this is top of your list!
Surrey HomeSearch help many clients looking to move to Surrey, and within Surrey, to be within the catchment area for specific schools. Surrey HomeSearch can advise on catchment areas for specific schools, and we can focus your search in an area to help you gain a place at a specific school.
If you are looking to move to Surrey and are thinking about instructing a Property Search Agent, we'd be happy to chat through your search requirements and see if we can help to find your perfect Surrey home.