Waiting list and process for schools and academies
If your child has not been allocated a place at one of the schools listed below, his or her name will be placed on the waiting list for the schools you have specified as a higher preference.
The following shows how long your child’s name will be held on the waiting lists:
There is no waiting list expiry date for the following school:
- Cardinal Newman Catholic School (Academy)
Waiting list expiry date is 31 December 2026 for the following school:
- Queen Elizabeth School (Foundation)
Waiting list expiry date is 31 July 2027 for the following schools:
- Challney High School for Boys (Academy)
- Challney High School for Girls (Academy)
- Chiltern Academy (free school)
- Denbigh High School (Academy)
- Icknield High School (Academy)
- Lealands High School (Foundation)
- Lea Manor High School (Academy)
- Putteridge High School (Academy)
- Stopsley High School (Academy)
- The Chalk Hills Academy (Academy)
- The Stockwood Park Academy (Academy)
Parents/carers can apply for their child’s details to be held on the waiting list following the expiry date, with the exception of Cardinal Newman Catholic School.
Parents/carers must apply to Advantage Schools Central Admissions for The Chalk Hills Academy and The Stockwood Park Academy.
For all of the other schools, parents/carers must apply to the Luton Council’s Admissions team.
Waiting list process
Parents and carers must be aware.
There is no guarantee that it will be possible to offer places to pupils on waiting lists in the future. Places at oversubscribed schools have been allocated up to their admission limit. Opportunities for those on the waiting lists will only occur if pupils already allocated a place decide not to take up the place offered.
Waiting lists are organised in the order of priority of the relevant school’s admission criteria. Waiting lists are not based on the date the applications were added to the lists.
The position of your child’s name on a waiting list may change as pupils are added to or deleted from the lists.
You must write to the Admissions team to remove your child’s name from the waiting list(s) for any higher ranked school if you are content with the school offered to your child. This is because waiting lists are often activated between March and August.
If your child is offered a place via the waiting list process, the original place offered will be immediately reallocated to another pupil. Your child’s name will then be removed from the waiting list of any schools you have specified as a lower preference. If your child has a brother or sister who is on the waiting list for the school offered, you must contact the Admissions team to ensure the brother or sister’s details are re-ranked on the waiting list.
Changes of preference and late applications
Where parents submit a late application changing their preference(s), and are successful in gaining a place at one of their preferred schools, the original place offered to their child will be immediately reallocated to another pupil.
Below are the closing dates and offer dates for the late rounds, where changes of preferences and late applications will be processed.
For late applications received up to 19 March 2026, decisions will be sent to parents on 15 May 2026.
For late applications received up to 30 April 2026, decisions will be sent to parents on 25 June 2026.
Applications received after 30 April 2026 will be processed in due course and the Admissions team will aim to advise parents in writing of the outcome before September 2026.