How to apply

From 1st September 2025 you can apply for your child’s place at high school. This is done by completing a
form at www.tameside.gov.uk/admissions.

To ensure you're making the right decision, you can visit Open Evenings in the area to get a feel from the school. For information on our next Open Evening click here. 

Deadline - 31st October

You must submit your high school application before 31st October 2025.

This is done by completing a form at www.tameside.gov.uk/admissions.
You’ll be asked for yours and your child’s details, your school preferences, reasons for applying and details of any siblings who attend the same school. You can choose up to six schools. Number one is your preferred choice; the other options will be considered in order of preference if your child is not allocated to their first choice.

There are clear, simple prompts to guide you through making your application and you can make changes to your application before the closing date.

If your child has special education needs (SEN) the council will work in partnership with parents, schools and support services to name a school in the child’s EHCP. Options for high school will be discussed at your child’s Year 5 Annual Review.

Offer day - 1st March

You will find out which high school you’ve been allocated to!

If you receive a place at Rayner Stephens High School, we’ll be in touch soon after with more information about our transition program.

We take pride in getting to know our students and their families, working in partnership to get the best possible academic results for our children, whilst providing them with a wealth of opportunities to develop their curiosity and character. Our staff are here every step of the way to help students prepare for this exciting step.

If you applied to Rayner and have not been allocated a place here, please email us at admin@rshs.spt.ac.uk for further advice - we can inform you if we have any available places and will talk you through how to appeal the place you've been given.

From here we’ll be finding out all about you and your child and you can learn more about us.

We plan lots of activities to support students through this journey and make the transition as smooth as possible. Our transition team regularly visit primary schools to be a friendly face to the students joining us. There will also be an opportunity
for your child to visit us on our induction day where they’ll get a taste of what an average day at Rayner is like!

We are confident your child’s time with us will be happy and filled with many achievements and successes.

We look forward to welcoming you to the academy and meeting you soon.