Primary schools for relocating families in the UK

State school places in England are allocated by your local authority, not the school itself. You apply through the council for the area where you will be living, and places are not guaranteed, especially mid-year. Apply as early as you can, list more than one preference, and contact the local authority directly to ask about availability if you are moving on a tight timeline.

Children in England, Scotland and Wales must be in education from age five, though most start the school year in which they turn five. Northern Ireland starts a year earlier, at age four. Compulsory schooling runs to sixteen across the UK. Exact entry points and intake dates vary by nation and local authority, so check the rules for the area you are moving to.

Yes. There are bilingual and international primary schools in larger cities, and Welsh-medium schools across Wales where lessons are taught in Welsh. These are less common than mainstream English-language schools and may have limited places, so it is worth enquiring early if a particular language of instruction matters to your family.

“Primary school” usually refers to state schools for ages four or five to eleven. A “prep” (preparatory) school is an independent, fee-paying school that prepares pupils for entry to senior independent schools, often via the 11+ or 13+ common entrance exams. Prep schools may take pupils to thirteen rather than eleven, and tend to have smaller classes and more flexibility to support children joining mid-year.

Often, yes. Independent schools admit pupils throughout the year and are usually well set up for families arriving mid-year. State schools can take mid-year admissions too, but only where a place is available in the right year group, which is not guaranteed in popular areas. Apply to the local authority as soon as you have an address, and ask independent schools directly about immediate availability.

Fees vary widely by school, region and whether places are day or boarding. Day fees at prep schools are typically charged per term, with three terms a year, and boarding costs considerably more. Many independent schools offer bursaries or means-tested assistance, so ask each school what financial support exists. State primary schools are free to attend.

Both state and independent schools are legally required to make reasonable adjustments for children who are not yet fluent in English. Support is usually provided through English as an Additional Language (EAL) programmes, though provision varies between schools. Independent schools often have more flexibility to offer dedicated EAL staffing. Ask each school directly about its EAL programme before enrolling.

In England, Ofsted inspects state schools and rates them Outstanding, Good, Requires Improvement or Inadequate; Scotland uses Education Scotland instead. A rating is a useful starting point but reflects a snapshot in time and does not capture everything that matters to your child. Treat it as one input alongside a visit, a conversation with the head teacher and your own sense of the school’s atmosphere.

Many state primary schools give priority to children living within a defined catchment area, so where you live can directly affect which schools you can realistically access. Catchments and admission criteria are set by the local authority or the school, and popular schools may fill on distance alone. Check the admission rules for specific schools before committing to an area or a tenancy.

Neither is automatically better; it depends on your child, your budget and how long you are staying. State schools are free and reflect the local community, but places are allocated by the local authority and can be hard to secure mid-year. Independent schools charge fees but admit year-round and often have more capacity to support children settling in from abroad. Visiting a shortlist of both is the most reliable way to decide.