We understand that it can be a very daunting, but also an exciting process when deciding which school is the right school for your child, whether the transition is from primary to secondary or between schools during the year.

St Catherine’s College would like to help you with the process by providing you with as much information as possible. Although St Catherine’s College manages its own admissions, you are required to apply for a place through East Sussex County Council.

Main Round Applications – Year 7, September 2025

For new intake applications for September 2025, decision letters will be emailed to you on Monday 3 March 2025. If you wish to accept a place at St Catherine’s College, the Admission Form will need to be completed and returned to us by 4pm on Monday 31 March 2025. Failure to do so may result in your child losing the place.

Please see Transition from Primary/Junior School to Secondary School where you will find dates for this year's transition to St Catherine's College.

In-Year applications 2024-25

All in-year applications for places at St Catherine’s College must be made via East Sussex County Council. You can apply online.

Admissions Consultation September 2026

We are consulting on changes to our admissions arrangements for students who will be entering year 7 in September 2026.  The consultation runs for a 6-week period, from 14 October 2024 – 25 November 2024. For further details and to give feedback, please see the documents below.

Supplementary Foundation Form 

Applicants can apply for a Foundation place or a Community place; an equal number of places are allocated to each criteria. If you or your child regularly attends a public place of worship and you wish to apply under the Foundation criteria you must complete the Foundation Form (found at the bottom of this page) in addition to the East Sussex County Council Application Form. Church School F8 applications do not require a Supplementary Foundation Form to be completed.

Waiting list

St Catherine’s College is responsible for managing a waiting list, where the number of applications exceed the number of places available. The waiting list is not chronological but is applied in accordance with our over-subscription criteria. Details of the criteria can be found in the Admission Policy which can be accessed by clicking on the link below.

If your application is unsuccessful and you wish to place your child on the waiting list, please contact the College directly. If a place becomes available and you are at the top of the waiting list, we will contact you.

The waiting list will operate for one academic year only, after which all names will be removed unless you contact the College to remain on the waiting list.

Appeals

If your application has been unsuccessful, you have the right to appeal where your case will be heard by an Independent Appeal Panel. Appeal requests must be made by completing and submitting an online Appeal Form to the School Appeals Service at East Sussex County Council. Further information about the appeals process, including the School Admissions Appeal Form, can be found by clicking on the link below.

You may also find the following information useful:

• For Main Round Appeals (entry into Year 7 in September 2025), the deadline for submitting an appeal is Monday 31 March 2025. Appeals will be heard throughout May until Wednesday 18 June 2025.​​​​
• For In-Year Appeals, appellants are to be allowed up to 25 days from the date of notification that their application was unsuccessful to prepare and lodge their written appeal.
• Appellants will receive at least ten school days notice of their appeal hearing
• Appellants are allowed up to seven working days before the hearing to submit additional evidence, for admission authorities to submit their evidence, and for the clerk to send appeal papers to the panel and parties
• Appellants are to be sent decision letters within five school days of the hearing wherever possible.
• For applications made in the normal admissions round, appeals must be heard within 40 school days of the deadline for lodging appeals
• For late applications, appeals should be heard within 40 school days from the deadline for lodging appeals where possible, or within 30 school days of the appeal being lodged
• Appeals submitted after the deadline must still be heard, but this can be done to a timescale set by the admission authority

Please do not hesitate to contact us if you require any further information.

East Sussex County Council Online Application Form

Appeals Process including Appeal Form