Please note that we follow City of Edinburgh Council policies on admissions. These can be found at School Places – The City of Edinburgh Council – we recommend that you look at this website as well as the details below.
Enrolment at James Gillespie’s Primary School
If you are interested in enrolling your child at James Gillespie’s Primary School, please contact the school office, in the first instance, to check if places are available.
Detailed information on school placements is found on the City of Edinburgh Council website, which you can find using the link below, along with maps of City of Edinburgh school catchment areas. Please note that your nearest school may not be your catchment school.
City of Edinburgh Council Admissions | City of Edinburgh Council Catchment Maps
Catchment Area Applications
If you live in our catchment area and wish to make an application, please complete the Request for a School Place form, below, and return it to the school along with:
- a copy of your child’s birth certificate
- proof of your address (current council tax letter AND a recent utility bill)
If your child is not an EU citizen, you will also need to provide a copy of their passport and relevant visa.
A decision about your application will be made as soon as possible.
If the relevant year group is full it will be necessary to refuse admission, even if you have moved into the catchment area. Your child will be placed on our catchment waiting list and you should apply to other schools in the meantime.
Please note that we are unable to hold an offered place open for longer than six weeks if you are in catchment, so please be aware of this before applying. (If you are not yet in catchment we cannot hold a place for more than 5 days.)
Non-Catchment Area Applications
The law allows parents to express a preference for a different school and such a school is referred to as a non-catchment school. In the City of Edinburgh many placing requests to non-catchment schools are granted, but it is important to note that not all requests can be met and catchment children will always take priority.
If you live outwith our catchment area and wish to make an application, please complete the form below and return it with the following:
- a copy of your child’s birth certificate
- proof of your address (current council tax letter AND a recent utility bill)
If there is a place to offer, we cannot hold that place for more than 5 days.
Admissions of Pupils outwith Edinburgh
Placing requests for a child who is currently outwith the City of Edinburgh Council cannot be processed until the child is resident in Edinburgh. Catchment places cannot be granted until the child is resident in the catchment area.
Moving into the catchment area during the school holidays
If you have moved into James Gillespie’s Primary School catchment area during the holidays and have a copy of the signed missives or the signed lease then please email the missives/signed lease, along with a completed application form and a scanned copy of your child’s birth certificate to the school email address (admin@jamesgillespies-pri.edin.sch.uk).
All emails will be dealt with in date receipt order, and will be responded to as soon as possible after the new term starts. There is no guarantee of a place (some year groups are full and we have waiting lists). We will be able to advise when we return after the holidays if there are any spaces.