Admissions
Applications open nationally on 1 September and close on 15 January every year.
You must apply for a primary school place one year before your child can start school. You will need to apply when your child is three or has just turned four.
If you would like to request for your child to be educated outside of their chronological age group, this should be discussed with our Headteacher after an offer has been made by the local authority.
Parents do not pay any fees at our school, as we are a free, state school (academy).
Applying for a place at Deer Park School
For a place at our school, you will need to apply through the London Borough of Richmond Upon Thames portal, where you’ll need to register. You may need to supply proof of your address to prove that you live, or will live, in the local area before the start of the following school term.
We are a two-form entry school, which means that we admit up to 60 children into Reception year. When there are fewer applicants than places available, all applicants will be admitted.
If there is a greater demand than places available, places will be offered using the oversubscription criteria explained in our Admission Policy (below), in keeping with the School Admissions Code 2021.
If your child has an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP), you will not need to complete the application; instead, you'll need to contact your assessment coordinator to discuss your child’s school placement.
School Admissions Team at Richmond Upon Thames
The School Admissions Team
Achieving for Children
Guildhall 2
High Street
Kingston upon Thames
KT1 1EU
richmond.admissions@achievingforchildren.org.uk
Moving home during the application process
If you move into or out of the London Borough of Richmond Upon Thames after the application deadline and before your child starts at our school, you must inform the School Admissions team: richmond.admissions@achievingforchildren.org.uk
Waiting lists
Unsuccessful applicants (including any applications received after the closing date) will be included on the waiting list. Waiting lists are managed by the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames; please note that our school has no control or influence over the management of waiting lists.
Please note a child’s position on the waiting list can go down as well as up. For example, if a new application is received or if a child on the list moves nearer to the school, the waiting list will need to be revised. The offer of a place does not depend on the length of time your child’s name has been on the waiting list. Waiting lists will be held by the school for one school year after the year of entry.
To understand more about how the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames processes waiting lists, read more here.
I am already on the waiting list. How do I find out my position on it?
Contact The School Admissions Teams, Achieving for Children, Guildhall 2, Kingston upon Thames, KT1 1EU; email: richmond.admissions@achievingforchildren.org.uk
Please note that our school has no control or influence over the management of waiting lists.
Appealing school place allocation
If your child has been refused a place at our school, you may appeal this decision with the Richmond Independent Appeals Service. If you are appealing for more than one child, or more than one school, a separate form must be completed for each.
Please note that our school does NOT manage appeals; they are handled by the Richmond Independent Appeal Service.
Submit an appeal online (you will need to create an account) or email education.appeals@richmond.gov.uk
Applying for an In-Year place
In-Year transfers are used for children moving into the local area or transferring from another school. In-year transfer applications for Deer Park School are administered by the London Borough of Richmond Upon Thames.
Please refer to Changing Schools In-Year Guide on the Achieving for Children website.
The Richmond Admission team be in contact with you as soon as we can confirm a school place for your child, but this may take a number of weeks. Where possible, you should not withdraw your child from their current school until a place with us is secured.
Your application must be made from a single address, and only a single application can be made for a child. The address you provide on your application must be where you are physically living with your child at the time the application is submitted. It is expected that you and your child will continue to live at the address used on your application until they start at their allocated school.
In-Year online application form.
Richmond Upon Thames brochures
Admission to a Richmond school as an in-year transfer brochure 24/25
Richmond's infant, junior, primary and secondary schools brochure.