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“How do I get my child into Southmoor Academy?”

Your child does not have to be a pupil at one of our feeder schools to apply for a place here at Southmoor Academy.

You are welcome to visit us for a tour with Mrs Maw, Headteacher or a member of our Senior Leadership Team.

Please contact our school office to arrange an appointment. Alternatively, please find information about our official open evenings below.

Open Evenings

EventDate
Southmoor Academy Open Evening 2025Wednesday 17th September at 4:30pm
Southmoor Sixth Form Open Evening 2025Wednesday 15th October at 5pm

Our Pupil Admission Numbers (PAN) for the Current Academic Year

YearAdmission Numbers
Current Year 7 (2026 Cohort)240
Current Year 8240
Current Year 9240
Current Year 10240
Current Year 11253

The Admission Process

Applications for a place should be made through Sunderland City Council using the link at the bottom of this page.

Admissions open during the school preference period. The preference period for 2026 secondary admissions is 8th September 2025 until 31 October 2025

Parents are required to apply online through the Local Authority’s website or by a paper application form. If your application is received after 31 October 2025, it will reduce your chance of being offered your preferred school.

National Offer Day for next year’s school places is 2nd March 2026. Parents/carers will also receive their email notification on 2 March 2026 if they apply online, rather than waiting for a letter being posted second class on 2 March 2026.

More information can be found on this page.

Admissions Timeline 2026

DateEvent
Week beginning 1 September 2025Information packs sent to primary schools
Friday 5 September 2025Information pack handed out to parents
Monday 8 September 2025Online system available up until closing date
Monday 8 September –Friday 24 October 2025Open Evenings with prospective year 7 pupils
Thursday 31 October 2025Closing date for secondary applications.
Friday 13 November 2025Exchange preference data with other LAs
By Friday 28 November 2025Details of applications provided to schools that are their own admission authority
Monday 12 January 2026Own admission authority schools provide the Authority with list of offers/refusals
Monday 19 January 2026Authority exchanges offers/refusals with other LAs
Friday 13 February 2026Schools will be notified which pupils have been allocated places at their schools
Monday 2 March 2026(National Offer Day)Secondary ‘Offer Day’ notification sent to parents
Friday 20 March 2026Deadline for parents to accept places
Monday 23 March 2026Authority will begin to allocate any places that have become available for oversubscribed schools
Friday 3 April 2026Appeal forms to be returned to Governance Services
May 2026Appeals to be heard
June 2026Appeals to be heard
July 2026Appeals to be heard
Thursdayday 31 December 2026No waiting list available after this date

Appeal dates to be confirmed

The Appeals Process

If you wish your appeal to be considered by the School Admission Appeal Panel, you should complete the appeals form found in ‘Admission Documents’ below and return it to Kelly Dormand, Southmoor Academy, Ryhope Road, Sunderland, SR2 7TF within 14 days of receipt of the appeal forms, from whom further advice can be obtained on the arrangements for the hearings. If no reply is received within 14 days, it will be assumed that you do not wish to pursue the matter.

  • You will be given at least 10 working days notice of the hearing, which will be held at a local venue. Please note that you may waive this notice by stating clearly on the form that you wish to do so.
  • At least 7 working days prior to the hearing, the Clerk to the School Admission Appeal Panel will send to you (the Appellant) by post, a written statement summarising the application of the Authority’s School Admission policy to the case in question and the reasons for the decisions taken. Please ensure that any change of address by you is notified to the Clerk to the School Admission Appeal Panel to enable relevant correspondence to be sent to you.

Sixth Form Admissions

To apply to our associated Sixth Form at Southmoor Academy, please follow their online application process found here.