Can we apply to grammar schools outside our borough?

Which council handles an out-of-borough application?

Use the Common Application Form (CAF) from your home local authority. For example, a London family considering a grammar school in Kent normally includes that school on its London council application. The councils coordinate the application; the family does not submit a second ordinary CAF to Kent. GOV.UK explains the cross-council process.

The school’s test organiser is a separate contact. Your home council cannot register your child for every entrance test simply because you list a school.

Catchment areas and council boundaries are different

A school may define a catchment by postcodes, named parishes, a map or a measured radius. That area need not follow a borough boundary. Other schools use distance after qualification, or allocate within priority groups using test scores.

Read the oversubscription criteria in their published order. Being allowed to sit the test tells you little about which category your child will be in when places are allocated.

Bexley’s test, for example, is open to children wherever they live. Its council still directs families to each grammar school’s admissions arrangements when judging the chance of an offer. That is a useful distinction between access to a test and access to a place.

Check the address rules before committing

• Entry year: use the policy for the September your child would start Year 7.
• Relevant address: check rules for shared care, recent moves and retained properties.
• Measurement: an online driving distance may differ from the council’s official straight-line measurement.
• Evidence deadline: find when address and priority evidence must be supplied.
• Previous allocations: compare the same priority category and allocation round, not just the smallest published distance.

If a boundary map is unclear, ask the admissions authority about your full address in writing. Do not assume a neighbouring street is treated identically.

Is the school practical from home?

Try the complete school-day journey, including walks, changes and the return after clubs. A short distance across a borough border may be easier than a longer journey within your own borough. Check fares and school travel arrangements separately from admissions eligibility.

Then list schools in your genuine preference order and include realistic alternatives. Use the school map to find locations, followed by the current school policy to establish priority.