Parents and guardians in ten Irish areas will be able to use the applytoschool.ie pilot to seek a first-year post-primary school place for the 2027/28 academic year. The online system is intended to simplify applications while giving participating schools a common process for receiving documents and managing admissions.
School admissions pilot: key dates and locations
The Department of Education and Youth is testing the application system in Athenry, Celbridge, Clonakilty, Greystones, Kilbeggan, Kilcoole, Maynooth, Oranmore, Rosscarbery and Tullamore/Killina.
Applications open on 1 October 2026, with submissions closing on 22 October 2026. Participating schools are scheduled to issue first-year offers on 12 November 2026. Families must respond to an offer between 12 and 20 November.
Documents to prepare before applying
- The child’s birth certificate
- Up to two proofs of address, such as a utility bill or bank statement
- Supporting documentation for a special class application, where relevant
Applications can be made to schools including Clarin College, Celbridge Community School, Clonakilty Community College, Greystones Community College, Maynooth schools, Calasanctius College, Mount St Michael and the participating Tullamore schools. The pilot includes English-medium and Irish-medium options, as well as Catholic, multi-denominational, Church of Ireland and inter-denominational schools.
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How admissions criteria and waiting lists work
Every school must publish an admissions policy approved by its patron. Under the Education (Admission to Schools) Act 2018, policies must be fair, transparent and non-discriminatory. Where demand exceeds available places, schools apply the selection criteria set out in their own published policy.
The Department does not determine individual school selection criteria. Parents should therefore review each school’s admissions policy and website before submitting an application. A child who is not offered a place because a school is oversubscribed will be placed on that school’s waiting list, but a waiting list does not guarantee an offer.
Special class applications and document uploads
The online form allows families to apply for mainstream places, special classes, or both. Special class applications may require professional reports, evidence describing the child’s level of need and an NCSE letter of eligibility for the 2027/28 school year.
Files may be uploaded as JPG, JPEG, PDF, PNG, TIFF, TIF or BMP files, with a maximum size of 10MB per document. Families should use clear images, combine multi-page documents into one file and upload each document to the correct field.
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Support for parents and guardians
Technical problems can be reported to the Department of Education and Youth at helpdesk_applytoschool@education.gov.ie. A parent user guide, video and frequently asked questions are also available through the applytoschool.ie pilot information page.
Key takeaway: Families applying through the school admissions pilot should check eligibility, prepare documents early and carefully review each school’s published criteria before the 22 October 2026 deadline.
Article/Image Courtesy: gov.ie
