Schools in Guildford & How Admissions Work

Who runs school admissions

Surrey County Council coordinates applications for state school places in Guildford. You apply through the county, not Guildford Borough Council. Many Guildford schools are academies or church schools. You still apply through Surrey, and some schools ask for an extra form of their own.

Key dates for a September 2027 start

These dates are from Surrey County Council's admissions pages, checked on 9 October 2026.

Secondary school (Year 7)

• For children who turn 11 between 1 September 2026 and 31 August 2027.
• Applications opened on 1 September 2026.
• Closing date: 31 October 2026.

Primary, infant and junior school

• For children born between 1 September 2022 and 31 August 2023, and children leaving Year 2 of an infant school in July 2027.
• Applications open on 2 November 2026.
• Closing date: 15 January 2027.

If you apply after the closing date you may be treated as a late applicant. Surrey has separate pages explaining what that means for primary and secondary places.

How to apply

Surrey sets the process out as a step-by-step guide for primary and secondary places. In outline:

1. Research and choose your schools.
2. Complete the application form. The online route is eadmissions.org.uk.
3. Complete any supplementary forms a school asks for.
4. Tell Surrey if your address or preferences change after you apply.
5. Applications are assessed and you are offered a place.
6. Accept or decline the place.
7. If you do not get a school you wanted, you can go on a waiting list or appeal.

Surrey's school map shows schools near your home, estimates the distance and shows whether a school has a catchment area.

Secondary schools in Guildford

Surrey's schools directory lists five state secondary schools with a Guildford address. All five are listed as academies.

• Christ's College, Larch Avenue, Guildford, GU1 1JY
• George Abbot School, Woodruff Avenue, Guildford, GU1 1XX
• Guildford County School, Farnham Road, Guildford, GU2 4LU
• Kings College for the Arts & Technology, Southway, Guildford, GU2 8DU
• St Peter's Catholic Comprehensive School, Horseshoe Lane East, Merrow, GU1 2TN

Primary, infant and junior schools

The directory lists these in and close to the town. Infant schools take children up to Year 2, and junior schools from Year 3, so check which stage you are applying for.

Primary schools: Boxgrove Primary School (GU1 2TD), Burpham Foundation Primary School (GU4 7LZ), Guildford Grove Primary School (GU2 8YD), Sandfield Primary School (GU1 4DT), St Joseph's Catholic Primary School (GU2 8YH), St Thomas of Canterbury Catholic Primary School, Merrow (GU1 2SX), Weyfield Primary Academy (GU1 1QJ) and Worplesdon Primary School (GU3 3NL).

Infant schools: Merrow C of E (Controlled) Infant School (GU4 7EA), Onslow Infant School, Onslow Village (GU2 7DD), Pewley Down Infant School (GU1 3PT), Shalford Infant School (GU4 8BY), St Nicolas C of E (A) Infant School (GU2 4YD), Stoughton Infant School (GU2 9ZT) and Wood Street Infant School (GU3 3DA).

Junior schools: Holy Trinity Church of England (Aided) Junior School (GU1 3QF), Merrow Junior School (GU1 2SG), Northmead Junior School (GU2 9ZA) and Queen Eleanor's Church of England Junior School (GU2 7SD).

Nursery: Guildford Nursery School and Family Centre, Hazel Avenue, Bellfields (GU1 1NR).

A search of the directory for the town "Guildford" returned 40 schools on 9 October 2026. That figure includes village schools with a Guildford postal address, such as those in Bramley, Chilworth, Shere and Puttenham, plus special schools and alternative provision. Use the directory search for the full list. Each entry links to the school's Ofsted reports and its own website.

Moving to Guildford during the school year

If your child needs a place outside the normal admissions round, for example because you have moved house, you make an in-year application. Surrey sets this out in eight steps, starting with checking that in-year is the right route for you.

Children with an EHC plan

If your child has an Education, Health and Care plan, there is a separate process. Do not use the standard form. If your child is still going through the EHC assessment and does not yet have a plan, Surrey says to apply through the mainstream process.

Sixth form

Each Surrey school with a sixth form manages its own applications. Apply to the school directly. Surrey's sixth form page lists which schools have one.

Term dates

Surrey publishes term dates for community and voluntary controlled schools. Academies and church schools can differ. See our guide to Surrey school term dates for 2026/27.