Cardiff has 125 schools, including Nursery, Primary, Secondary and Special Schools.
Before you complete an application, we recommend that you research your preferred school. By collecting as much information as possible about the schools in your area, you can decide which would be most likely to meet your child's needs.
Find schools in Cardiff.To help you decide your preferred schools you can:
Consider schools in your catchment area
A child does not need to live within the catchment area of a school to be eligible to attend that school. However, we do recommend that you consider including your catchment school as a preference when applying for a school place. Children living in this area get a higher priority for admission to their catchment school compared to other schools they may be interested in.
Catchment schools are not always the closest school to your child’s home. You can
find your catchment schools online. Living in a school’s catchment area does not guarantee a place.
Consider how your child will get to school
It is your parental responsibility to make sure your child is able to get to school.
Active travel
Active travel such as walking, cycling or scooting should be your method of choice when choosing how to get to school. Active and sustainable travel can promote physical activity, improve pupil learning, and contribute to a safer local environment.
Free school transport
You may qualify for
free school transport if your child lives a certain distance from the nearest appropriate catchment school.
Alternative transport
Selecting your preferred schools
List your school preferences in priority order. Put the school you want the most first.
Make sure you choose:
- 1 school for Admission to Nursery Education
- 3 schools for Admission to Primary Education
- 5 schools for Admission to Secondary Education