FAMILIES with children who are due to start primary school in September have less than two weeks to apply for a place.

North Yorkshire County Council is urging parents to get their applications in by Monday, January 15.

Any application received after this date will be treated as late and will be considered after those the authority received on time, which could affect the allocation of a child’s school place.

“Families whose children were born between September 1, 2013 and August 31, 2014 and are due to start school for the first time in September, need to get their child’s application in as soon as possible,” said County Councillor Patrick Mulligan, North Yorkshire County Council’s Executive Member for Schools.

Cllr Mulligan added: “Last year more than 95 per cent of parents or carers of primary age children secured their first school preference in North Yorkshire, higher than many other places in the country.

“However, if an application is not made on time then families may find it much harder to get their child into a school of choice.”

Parents or carers can list up five schools and rank them in order of preference.

National Offer Day for primary school allocation is April 16, 2018.

All the information families need to know about North Yorkshire’s primary schools is available online at www.northyorks.gov.uk/admissions where people can also complete an online application form.

For more information and advice contact School Admissions on 01609 533679.