Choosing a secondary school in East Lothian

If you want to send your child to a non-catchment school for Secondary 1 (S1) for the intake in August 2025, you should complete an S1 non-catchment placing request form which is available here.

Updated placing request forms will be available from mid-November each year. Please do not submit a placing request form until after this time. The closing date for applications is the 31st December each year (e.g. if you wish to make an application for the August Term 2025, the application form must be in by 31st December 2024, and so on.)

What is the procedure?

We will acknowledge your placing request within 14 days of receiving it. (If you haven't heard from us within 14 days, please get in touch with us using the contact details at the bottom of this page.)

By law, the council has to grant a placing request wherever possible. However, while most requests are granted, in certain cases this is not possible (e.g. where there are no longer any places for more children to attend a school).

Once a child has been offered a place, the offer won't be withdrawn unless the place was obtained through giving false information, and a pupil moving into the catchment area can't take a place from a non-district pupil already admitted to the school.

Priority for school places

Pupils living in the catchment area have priority over those from outside.

When there are fewer requests than places available, requests for places are usually granted.

When there are more placement requests than places available, the Head of Education will decide who gets a place.