Moving school mid-year: a practical transfer plan

A sudden move can leave little time to compare schools. Start with the questions that could make a transfer impossible: is there a place for your child’s year group, is the child eligible, and can the school provide the teaching and support they need?

Then work through the curriculum, practical arrangements, and contract. A quick answer to an enquiry is useful, but it is not the same as a confirmed offer.

The application-calendar guide explains registration and assessment deadlines. This page focuses on a child who needs to change school after the academic year has begun.

Ask about your child, not general availability

“Rolling admissions” does not guarantee immediate entry. Ask whether the school is accepting applications, carrying out assessments, or offering places in the year group you need.

A useful first enquiry gives the child’s date of birth, current year group and curriculum, languages of instruction, intended starting date, and any learning or access needs. If boarding is required, say so at the start.

Ask the school to confirm:

• Which year group it would consider, and how it decides placement.
• Whether a place is currently available in the required programme or language section.
• What assessment and documents it needs before making an offer.
• Whether language and learning support are available for this child, in this year.
• The earliest realistic starting date, including any induction.
• Whether an academic offer also confirms a boarding place, if relevant.

Check siblings separately. One available place does not establish that the whole family can use the same school.

Do not confuse term dates with permission to transfer

The first day of the academic year tells you when teaching begins. It does not, by itself, tell you whether a school can admit a pupil in January.

Check both the admissions policy and the calendar. For example, Germany’s KMK holiday service publishes the holiday arrangements supplied by the Länder. France’s education ministry calendar sets out dates by the relevant location. Neither is a substitute for a decision about your child’s transfer.

For a publicly allocated place, ask the local admissions authority which procedure applies to a newly arrived child. For a school that accepts direct applications, ask the school itself. Do not assume that national schools refuse mid-year transfers, or that international schools always accept them.

If you are considering a European School, check its admissions categories and the policy for the relevant school year. Brussels uses a central enrolment service. Eligibility and language-section rules need to be resolved before campus preference.

Agree the year group and curriculum handover

Year numbers are not interchangeable across countries. Give the receiving school the child’s date of birth, the name of the current programme, the last year completed, and recent reports. Ask it to explain the proposed placement and the reason for it.

For an older child, a matching programme name is only the beginning. Ask the current and receiving schools to compare:

• Subjects already studied and the subjects available at the new school.
• Examination board or syllabus, where relevant.
• Course level, including higher- and standard-level choices where applicable.
• Coursework, practical work, or internal assessments already completed.
• Credit, attendance, language, and graduation requirements.
• Any catch-up work and who will supervise it.

Do not assume that an IB, British, American, or national-curriculum label makes two timetables identical. Before moving during an examination course, ask the receiving programme coordinator to confirm what can transfer and what cannot. Ask whether the proposed move could delay completion or narrow the child’s subject choices.

If there is a substantial mismatch, compare the real alternatives. These might include a different receiving school or a later transfer, if the family’s circumstances allow it. A prestigious name is not a good reason to ignore a course that cannot be completed.

Confirm language and learning support before accepting

Describe what your child can currently do in each language. Everyday conversation and the ability to write an assessed essay are different skills.

Ask whether the school’s assessment is used to plan support, decide admission, or both. Find out how support is delivered, what lessons the child might miss, whether there is an additional charge, and whether provision changes in later years.

Share relevant support information through the school’s secure application process. Ask who will review it and when you can discuss a written support plan. Do not rely on a general statement that the school is “inclusive”; you need to know what it can provide for this child.

The language guide has more questions about classroom learning, local-language study, and social inclusion.

A first email you can adapt

We are moving to [city] on [date] and are looking for a school place starting in [month].

Our child was born on [date] and is currently in [year group] at [school], following [curriculum] in [language]. They also use [other languages]. We would like to discuss [language support, learning support, accessibility, or boarding needs, if relevant].

Do you consider mid-year applications for this year group? If so, please let us know the next steps, likely decision timetable, and secure process for submitting reports and supporting documents.

We can meet on [dates] or arrange an initial online conversation. We have read your admissions information at [link].

Keep the initial message focused. You do not need to attach a passport, medical information, or a full support file to an unsolicited email. Ask for the appropriate submission method first.

If the year group is full, ask whether there is a waiting list, how it operates, and when the school expects to review applications. Continue investigating a workable alternative while waiting.

Prepare the documents without sending everything everywhere

The school or authority should give you a checklist. A useful preparation folder may include recent reports, a record of schools attended, course or subject details, identity documents, and relevant support records.

Check which documents must be originals, translated, certified, or sent directly by the current school. Do not pay for a certified translation until you know it is required, and do not delay the first enquiry while preparing documents that may not be needed.

Health, vaccination, residency, and eligibility evidence can be required for enrolment. Ask exactly what is needed, by when, and through which secure channel. For European Schools, follow the current category and language documentation requirements rather than assuming an employer’s letter is sufficient.

Ask for a written late-entry cost calculation

Before accepting, request a calculation for your actual starting date. It should show tuition, any boarding charge, one-off fees, deposits, and the support or services your child will use.

Ask whether tuition is charged by month, term, or year, and whether any reduction applies to late entry. Check whether registration or capital fees remain payable in full.

Also read the withdrawal terms of both schools. You may owe notice-related fees to the school you are leaving as well as charges at the new one. If an employer pays, confirm who remains responsible under the school contract and what happens if the employer’s contribution ends.

Separate an advance payment credited against tuition from an additional fee. The fee-schedule guide explains how to avoid counting the same charge twice.

Plan the first month, not only the first day

Ask who will meet the child, explain the timetable, help them find lunch, and check how the first week has gone. Find out how parents contact the class teacher, tutor, or support coordinator.

Arrange a handover between schools where appropriate. Include strengths and interests as well as difficulties: a new teacher needs to know what helps the child feel capable.

Keep the first few weeks manageable. Discuss clubs, travel, homework, and friendships with your child, then agree a review date with the school. A difficult first day does not settle the question of fit, but problems should have a named adult and a clear next step.

Before you withdraw from the current school

Make sure you have a written offer, the conditions attached to it, the agreed year group and starting date, a clear account of support, and the payment and withdrawal terms.

If no suitable place is available immediately, contact the local education authority about the child’s options and any attendance or registration obligations. Do not assume that informal home study, online lessons, or waiting until September is permitted.

The aim is not to make every detail perfect before moving. It is to resolve the conditions that could leave your child without a workable school place, and to give both schools enough information for a thoughtful handover.

Friendly orientation, not formal admissions advice. Always confirm dates with the school.