Cardiff Council is also appealing to families to apply on time and to remember that a child is not automatically entitled to a reception place at a primary school where they attend the nursery. A new application must be made for a reception class place at primary school.

Every area of Cardiff is served by a Welsh-medium community primary school, an English-medium community primary school, a Church in Wales Primary School and a Catholic Primary School. 

Applications for admission to community primary schools are made directly to the Council through the online admissions system. 

The Council also coordinates admissions for 21 of the 23 faith primary schools. This year St Patrick’s R.C Primary School joins the coordinated admissions scheme. This enables parents to submit their preferred schools all on one online application.

For a place at a school that is part of coordinated admissions scheme, you must apply through the Council’s online admissions system.

Parents applying for a place at Llandaff City C.W. Primary School or St John Lloyd R.C Primary School should apply directly to the school.

For a list of the 21 faith schools included in the coordinated scheme and for more information about school admissions, please visit; Primary school ad​missions (cardiff.gov.uk).

Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Education, Cllr Sarah Merry said: “It is our goal to make applying for a primary school place as straightforward as possible and by ensuring families understand clearly how the admissions process works and how to apply for a school place correctly, more families are able to secure one of their preferred schools.

“Through our ongoing admissions campaign, we have seen an incremental rise over recent years in parents applying for school places correctly and on time, a positive step towards making sure that every family in Cardiff has the knowledge, support and understanding so that they are not at a disadvantage when applying for a school place.

“Parents are reminded that they can provide five preferred schools instead. In addition, a total of 21 faith primary schools are part of Cardiff’s coordinated admissions process, meaning that those families who wish to apply for both community and faith schools, can do so using the Council’s admissions portal.”

Each area of the city is served by a Welsh Medium Community primary school. Welsh-medium education is available to everyone regardless of whether Welsh or English is spoken at home.  Cardiff also has a nationally acclaimed Welsh Immersion Unit, operating since 2010,  successfully supporting more than 400 learners with no previous Welsh language to become fluent and transfer into our Welsh-medium schools part way through their education journey.

Further information about Welsh-medium education can be found here on our new Our City Our Language - Ein Dinas Ein Hiaith

Cllr Merry added: “Welsh-medium education is available to all families regardless of the language spoken at home and provides opportunities for children to become fully fluent in both Welsh and English. Through our plans of developing a bilingual Cardiff, the Welsh language is promoted as a vibrant living language and reflects our ambition that every young person has the opportunity to hear, speak and enjoy Welsh daily which can increase their experiences, skills and opportunities for the future.”

Further guidance related to the admissions application process is available from Cardiff Council’s School Admissions team and 7 tips have been identified to assist families by explaining how the admissions process works, the importance of using all preferences available to them and why they should apply on time. To view the 7 tip guidance and the animation please visit:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZqFFf-qb0HU

Straightforward advice and guidance can be accessed in 11 different languages in addition to Welsh and English, and parents can also seek help and advice from any of Cardiff’s Hwbs and libraries.

Primary school applications close on Monday 13, January 2025.

To apply for a school place please go to: www.cardiff.gov.uk/schooladmissions .

The 7 tips School Admissions campaign supports Cardiff’s commitment to becoming one of the UK’s first Unicef Child Friendly Cities, placing the rights and voices of children and young people at the heart of Cardiff's policies, strategies and services.

The information is also available on the webpage in several languages including Arabic, Bengali, Cantonese, Czech, Mandarin, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Somali and Ukrainian.