Education authorities set out catchment areas for each of their primary schools, each of which is associated with a secondary school. Children living within a catchment area are normally provided with a place at the school serving that area.
What happens if a school is full?
Occasionally, there may be too many children for the number of places at a school. When this happens, an education authority will allocate places according to a clear set of rules.
They will often do this by looking at how far a child lives from the school and whether they already have a brother or sister at the school.
Read more
The Scottish Government booklet Choosing a school explains the school admissions and placing request process.
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