Welcome to the Year 6 to Year 7 Transition page for entry to St John’s.
If your child is born between 1st September 2014 and 31st August 2015, they will be eligible to start secondary school in September 2026.
If your child is born between 1st September 2015 and 31st August 2016, they will be eligible to start secondary school in September 2027.
Whilst this is a very exciting time, we appreciate that you and your child may be anxious about the next stage of their educational journey. We are here to help ensure the process is as smooth and well supported as possible.
A range of transition events will be held to introduce you and your child to the school and our staff, including visits to Year 6 classes at your primary school, an Information Evening for parents and our Year 6 Induction Day in the summer.
You will find the answers to a lot of questions on this page. However, please feel free to email our Admissions team on 
admissions@stjohns.excalibur.org.uk or 
01672 519535 should you have any other queries.
The expandable tabs below will give you access to all our transition information, including everything you need to know about the Year 6 – 7 transition process.
Applications to join St John’s Marlborough are made through your Local Authority, based on your home address at the time of application. You can check which Local Authority you fall under on gov.uk: 
Find your local council.
For September 2027 Year 7 admission:
Applications Open: 1st September 2026.
Applications Close: 31st October 2026.
Online applications
If you live in Wiltshire and your child is currently in Year 6 and is starting Year 7 in September 2026 please apply through Wiltshire Council’s Admission Portal. You will be able to view and respond to your offers on National Offer Day through the portal. For those living outside of Wiltshire please use your Local Authority’s own online admission system.
Paper applications
Paper Application forms for Year 7 2026 entry are available to download from the Wiltshire Council website: 
Secondary school application form 2026 entry. Forms must be returned to the address provided on the form. Please be aware, if you submit a paper application, the outcome will be sent to you in the post, second class, so you will receive it after national offer day. We always recommend parents apply online so that they receive the outcome of their application on National Offer Day.
For further information on the application process please see the following:
Apply For a Wiltshire School Place Wiltshire Council webpage
Find a Secondary School Place – Parent guide booklet PDF
The table below shows our transition timeline dates at a glance. For the full timeline, please see our
Transition Timeline PDF.
For September 2026 Year 7 admissions:
| 1st September 2025 | Applications open |
| 2nd October 2025 | St John’s Open Evening |
| 31st October 2025 | Application Deadline |
| 16th December 2025 | Exceptional Circumstances Deadline |
| 2nd March 2026 | Offer Date for 1st round offers
Deadline to accept offers is 16th March 2026 |
| March – June 2026 | Visits to catchment schools |
| 24th April 2026 | 2nd Round Offer Date for late applications made between 31st Oct and 6th March. |
| 15th May 2026 | All 3rd Round offers can be offered from this date. |
| 15th June 2026 | Out of Catchment Schools’ Visit |
| 18th June 2026 | Year 6 Parents’ Information Evening |
| 22nd June 2026 | Uniform Fitting Evening |
| 2nd July 2026 | SEN Induction Day (by invitation only) |
| 3rd July 2026 | Year 6 Induction Day |
| End of July 2026 | Deadline to order uniform. |
| 31st August 2026 | Any applications received after this date will be considered an In-Year Transfer |
| 3rd September 2026 | New Year 7s Start Date |
Transition information and detailed dates for September 2027 Year 7 admissions will be made available in September 2026.
Admission Policy
Our Admissions Policy details how all admissions applications to St John’s are processed. St John’s is able to offer places to students until such time as our Planned Admission Number (PAN) is reached. Our PAN for year 7 is 271.
Should we receive more applications than we have available spaces, applications will be ranked according to our oversubscription criteria. This criteria is outlined on Page 5 of our policy.
Within each category, priority will be given to siblings and applications will be ranked according to the straight-line distance between St John’s and the home address. Those which rank in the top 271 places will be offered a place.
Any offers which are declined will then be offered to the next applicants on the ranked list.
Catchment Area
St John’s Marlborough’s catchment area is demarcated by the red boundary line on our Catchment Map. The catchment area is used within our Oversubscription Criteria (p5 of our Admission Policy) to determine rankings of applications.
If your child has an EHCP, your Local Authority SEND Lead worker will consult with St John’s to secure your child’s place. This should be done following your child’s Year 5 Transition Annual Review.
More information may be found on the Wiltshire Council website Moving on to school or college with an EHCP.
Transition Documents and Letters (September 2026 Admission)
|
Transition Information Letter – Catchment Schools Apr 2026 | 01/05/2026 11:16 |
|
Transition Information Letter – Out of Catchment Schools Apr 2026 | 01/05/2026 11:15 |
|
Principal’s Welcome Letter April 2026 | 14/04/2026 14:17 |
|
Head of Y7 Welcome Letter April 2026 | 14/04/2026 14:16 |
|
Open Evening Presentation to Parents | 06/11/2025 14:55 |
|
St John’s 2026 Applications letter to Year 6 Parents | 26/09/2025 11:15 |
|
Year 6 Open Evening 2025 Invitation | 26/09/2025 11:14 |
Transition FAQ
How do I appeal?
If an application is not successful, the applicants have the right to appeal against the decision to an independent panel. Appeals will be heard in June 2026.
Appeals should be made within 20 school days and can be made via the Parent Portal, accompanied by an 
appeals form. Please return this by post or email to:
Appeals Clerk ℅ the Trust’s Admission Authority at
Excalibur Academies Trust, St John’s Marlborough, Granham Hill, Marlborough SN8 4AX
admissions@stjohns.excalibur.org.uk.
We recommend reading a parents guide to school admission appeals prior to completing the form.
I’ve not been offered a place. Can I join a waiting list?
Yes, you can do this within Wiltshire Council’s Parent Portal.
Positions on the waiting list will be ranked by the oversubscription criteria and if places become available throughout the transition process, they will be offered accordingly.
St John’s maintains its own separate waiting list for Year 7 once the transition process has completed (31st August): for those students wishing to remain on a waiting list for Year 7 please complete a new In-Year Transfer application.
We live out-of-catchment and/or don’t attend a linked/feeder school. What are the chances of getting a place?
We would always recommend putting St John’s down as your first preference as this will increase the chances of getting an offer in the first round (early March).
We have historically been a very over-subscribed school; however, the picture is changing across Wiltshire, with falling birth numbers, and we have recently been able to offer places to more out-of-catchment families. In September 2025 we were able to offer a place to every student who wished to join us! However, this can change on a yearly basis.
Will my child be in a Tutor Group with their friends?
Year 6 teachers advise us with ‘Positive Pairings’ for all their students moving up to St John’s. These ensure that all students are with at least one person they know from their primary school unless they need a fresh start.
If your child is the only student joining us from your primary school you can request that your Year 6 teacher passes on the name of a student your child knows from out of school, e.g. sports clubs or hobbies.
Tutor Groups will be announced on the first day of school in September by the Head of Year 7.
What is the average class size in Year 7?
28-30. However, this year we have 13 classes in excess of 30.
Class sizes may be higher in Maths and English sets. DT classes are smaller.
How are students allocated to classes or sets in years 7 to 11?
In Year 7 students are taught in tutor groups for most of their lessons, including English. They are assigned sets in Maths from the start of the year using information from their primary school, including Key Stage 2 SATs. This is then cross referenced with a base line assessment at the start of Year 7.
Design and Technology is taught in smaller classes, with other subjects taught in the same groups. This academic year it is music and PE.
In Year 8, we move away from tutor groups to new groupings which are determined by subject leaders. All classes, except for English and Maths, are taught in mixed groups.
The same model continues into Year 9, with the introduction of separate classes for their language lessons. Students will choose which language they will study at the end of Year 8.
In Years 10 and 11, English and Maths are set separately across the whole year group. Some science groups are organised based on foundation and higher tier entry. There is no setting in other subjects.
Where setting does not occur, teachers review groupings regularly using the outcomes of our Curriculum Impact Assessments (CIAs.)
How are pupils allocated Houses?
Your child will automatically be allocated a House with the rest of their tutor group and tutor.
The Houses are: Jade House, Amber House, Sapphire House, Ruby House and Topaz House. They will remain in their house for the rest of their time in St Johns.
Please note: siblings will not necessarily be in the same House.
How do I apply if my child has a SEND requirement?
Unless your child has an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) they will apply to St John’s through the standard route. Once offers have been confirmed, St John’s will contact the previous school/setting your child is moving from to collect information to support their transition to us. If appropriate, additional transition visits will be arranged.
What support can my child with additional needs access?
All teachers are trained in ‘quality first teaching strategies’ so that lessons are designed with inclusion in mind from the start. Most students’ needs will be tailored through this: scaffolding, modelling, chunking information and so on.
Where a child has a more bespoke need: TAs are allocated to core subjects.
Baseline reading data is used alongside CATS and SATs to identify students who may need additional literacy support. This is done during tutor times in 6-week blocks of support.
Information about students’ needs is gathered during the transition process and One Page Profiles (OPPs) are written based on information from parents and primary schools. OPPs include detail about the barriers to learning and the inclusive and adaptive teaching strategies that should be used in class to support students.
Visit our 
Special Educational Needs & Disabilities page for more information.
My child has an EHCP
Please see the EHCP tab.