11+ CAF Guide 2026: How to Complete Your Form (London)

If your child is in Year 6 and you are applying for a London secondary school place for September 2027, the Common Application Form (CAF) has to be in by Saturday 31 October 2026. List up to six schools in the order you genuinely prefer them, read each school's admissions criteria, include at least one school where a place is realistic, and submit well before the last day.

That last part matters more than usual for 11+ families. Results tend to land in October, so the information you need to finalise your list often arrives within days of the deadline. A strong score feels like the end of the process. It is not. A pass at a selective school is one input into an offer, and the CAF is where the actual decision gets made.

This guide walks through how the form works, how London's equal preference system treats your ranking, the mistakes that quietly cost families places, and what happens between submitting and offer day. If your child is still preparing for or reviewing 11+ results, our 11 Plus tutors can help with the academic side while you deal with the paperwork.

The CAF at a glance: dates and rules for 2026 entry

What	Detail
Applies to	Children born between 1 September 2015 and 31 August 2016 (Year 7 entry, September 2027)
Pan-London portal opened	Tuesday 1 September 2026
Closing date	Saturday 31 October 2026
Number of preferences	Up to six schools in London
National Offer Day	Monday 1 March 2027
Accept or decline an offer by	Monday 15 March 2027

Source: Kensington and Chelsea hints and tips for entry 2027, City of London secondary admissions booklet. Individual boroughs set some details themselves, so confirm times and local rules on your own council's website.

What is the CAF and who has to complete it?

The Common Application Form is the single form parents use to apply for state secondary school places in England. In London you complete one CAF through your home borough, and it can name up to six schools anywhere in London, including schools in other boroughs. All 33 London boroughs and Surrey County Council use the same pan-London system, which is how a family in one borough can apply for a school in another without filling in a second form. Listing a school on the CAF is your formal application to it.

Two things sit outside the CAF, and families confuse them every year:

Independent schools. The government's guidance is to contact private schools directly, so they never appear on your CAF.
Entrance tests and supplementary forms. Registering for a selective test, a banding test or a school's own supplementary information form is a separate step with its own deadline. Naming a school on the CAF does not register your child for its test.

Outside London the picture changes. Councils in England must allow at least three preferences, and many outside the capital allow three or four. Your local council will tell you how many you get and which form to use. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland run separate systems altogether.

How equal preference works, and why it changes how you rank schools

Every London borough processes secondary applications under an equal preference system. The key idea is simple: each school you list sees your application exactly as it sees everyone else's, judged against its own admissions criteria. It does not know where you ranked it. Kensington and Chelsea's guidance puts it plainly: a school is treated the same way wherever you place it on your list.

Your order only comes into play at the end, when more than one school could offer your child a place. In that case the council offers the one you ranked highest and releases the rest back into the system for other families.

A worked example makes this concrete. Suppose you list four schools, A to D, in that order:

School A is oversubscribed and your child does not meet its criteria well enough. It cannot offer.
Schools B, C and D can all offer a place.
You are offered School B, the highest-ranked school that could say yes.
The offers from C and D are withdrawn, and your child is automatically placed on the waiting list for School A.

Two practical consequences follow. First, putting a school second or third does not weaken your child's claim to it. Second, ranking is not a tactic for gaming anything: it is simply an instruction telling the council which school you would rather have if you can only have one.

The order of your preferences is also kept confidential from schools, which is why admissions teams say listing extra schools will not hurt your chances at a higher preference (Kensington and Chelsea).

Five rules for completing your CAF preferences

1. Rank schools in your true order of preference

If one school is your first choice, put it first. The temptation is to move it down because you think another school is easier to get into, but that instinct backfires under equal preference. If both schools could offer, you receive whichever you ranked higher. A "safer" school placed at the top can therefore take the place of the school you actually wanted.

2. Use all six preferences

Leaving slots empty gains you nothing. Councils say adding more schools does not reduce your chances at a higher preference, and an unfilled slot is a missed fallback. If none of your preferences can offer, the council allocates a school that still has places, which may be nowhere you would have chosen and nowhere near home.

3. Read the admissions criteria, not just the school's reputation

Every school publishes its oversubscription criteria, and they differ more than most parents expect. Look for:

sibling priority (not every school gives it)
priority areas, catchments or feeder primary schools
distance used as a tie-breaker, and how far the last offer went in previous years
random allocation at some schools
faith criteria, which usually need a supplementary form
banding or aptitude tests that must be booked separately

For selective schools, find out how the test result is used. Some set a qualifying score and then apply other criteria, while others rank applicants by score. "Passed" and "offered" are different outcomes, and the policy tells you which one applies. The Department for Education's school finder and each school's own website are the places to check.

4. Include a realistic backup you would genuinely be happy with

Kensington and Chelsea advise including at least one school where you are reasonably certain your child meets the criteria, such as a nearby school that fills most places by distance. That advice holds even with excellent 11+ results. Being closest to a school does not guarantee a place, and a backup you are happy with turns the worst case from stressful into manageable.

5. Do not try to second-guess the allocation system

There is no hidden game in the order of your preferences. Schools are assessed against their own criteria, and the council offers the highest-ranked school on your list that can say yes. Your job is to put an honest list in an honest order, with options across the range from ambitious to secure. Trying to outsmart a system that was designed to remove that incentive mostly creates risk.

Common CAF mistakes that cost families places

Mistake	Why it hurts	What to do instead
Submitting after 31 October	Late applications are considered after every on-time one, which can badly reduce your chances at popular schools	Submit at least a few days early and keep the confirmation email
Skipping the supplementary information form	Faith schools and some others will not rank you without it, and you must also name the school on your CAF	Check each school's policy and return the form directly to the school
Missing a test registration	Selective and banding tests are booked separately from the CAF	Put every test deadline in your calendar before you finalise preferences
Listing only one or two schools	If they cannot offer, you are allocated whichever school has places left	Fill all six slots with a spread of ambitious and secure options
Ranking by perceived chance of success	Under equal preference a lower-ranked school never loses out, but a higher-ranked safe option can displace your real first choice	Rank by what you actually want
Assuming the nearest school is guaranteed	Distance is often a tie-breaker, not a promise	Check last year's furthest distance offered

A pass is not a place

This is the point we would stress most for families waiting on 11+ results. A pass or a high score tells you your child is eligible to be considered. Whether an offer follows depends on how that school's criteria rank all of its applicants, which can involve catchment, distance, priority areas and more. Treat your results as strong evidence for building a sensible list, and not as a reason to shorten it.

If you want to understand where your child stands before you finalise, a trial lesson with an experienced 11+ tutor can show you where your child is strong and where marks are leaking, which helps with both preparation and decisions. You can book a free trial lesson or ask us a question.

What happens after you submit your CAF

Submitting is not quite the end, but the next steps are mostly waiting and responding on time.

Keep your confirmation. Online applications normally trigger a confirmation email with a reference number. Save it. It is your proof of an on-time application.
Changes before the deadline. In Kensington and Chelsea you can log back in to change or delete preferences until 11.59pm on 31 October. Other boroughs may differ, so check yours.
National Offer Day, Monday 1 March 2027. You will receive one offer, for the highest-ranked school on your list that could offer a place. Most councils publish outcomes through their portal on the day, and Kensington and Chelsea sends an email that evening.
Respond by Monday 15 March 2027. You accept or decline through the same portal. Accepting a place does not stop you remaining on waiting lists for higher preferences.
Waiting lists. If a higher-ranked school could not offer, your child is normally placed on its waiting list automatically. Places do move in the weeks and months after offer day, so a disappointing result is not always final.
Appeals. You have the right to appeal to an independent panel if a school refuses a place. Deadlines vary by borough and are set out in your offer letter, so read it carefully and act quickly. The government's pages on waiting lists and appealing a school's decision explain how both work.

If you miss the deadline entirely, speak to your home borough's admissions team straight away. Late applications are processed after on-time ones, so the earlier you act, the better your position.

11+ CAF questions parents ask

What is the CAF deadline for September 2027 entry?

The closing date is Saturday 31 October 2026. Online applications through the pan-London portal can usually be amended until 11.59pm that day. Late applications are considered after all on-time ones, which can seriously reduce your chances at popular schools.

How many schools can I list on the London CAF?

Up to six, in rank order. You can name state schools in any London borough. Independent schools are not on the CAF and must be applied to directly.

Does the order of my preferences matter?

Yes, but only when more than one school could offer your child a place. In that case you are offered the school you ranked highest. Schools themselves are not told your order, so ranking a school lower does not reduce its view of your application.

Does putting a grammar or selective school second or third lower my child's chances?

No. Under the equal preference system, each school assesses your child against its own criteria, whatever position you gave it. Your ranking only decides which offer you receive if several are available.

If my child passed the 11+, do I still need a backup school?

Yes. A pass does not guarantee an offer, because places are allocated using the school's admissions criteria, which can include distance, catchment or priority areas. Include at least one school where a place is realistic.

Can I change my CAF after I submit it?

In many boroughs you can edit or delete preferences online until the closing date. Kensington and Chelsea, for example, allows changes until 11.59pm on 31 October. After the deadline, changes usually need a valid reason and your borough's agreement, so confirm local rules.

When is National Offer Day for secondary schools in 2027?

Monday 1 March 2027. You then need to accept or decline by Monday 15 March 2027 in London boroughs such as Kensington and Chelsea and the City of London.

Do independent schools use the CAF?

No. For private schools, the government advises contacting each school directly for its own application and entrance process.

What is a supplementary information form?

A form some schools, usually faith schools, require in addition to the CAF. You return it to the school itself, and you must also list that school on your CAF for the application to count.

How OxbridgeX supports 11+ families

We do not run the CAF process and cannot predict offers, and anyone who promises you a place is overselling. What we can do is help your child get the strongest result possible in the exams that feed into your list, and give you a clearer picture of where they stand.

OxbridgeX provides online 11 Plus tutoring with tutors from Oxford, Cambridge and other Russell Group universities. Families receive lesson summaries after each session, so you can see what was covered and what to work on next. If you are weighing up support, you can compare plans, book a free trial, or get in touch with questions. Parents also share their experiences on Trustpilot.

Looking further ahead, many Year 6 families start thinking about how their child will cope with the step up to secondary. Our GCSE tutors, A Level tutors and wider online tutoring across the UK cover each stage when you need it, and the OxbridgeX blog has more guidance for parents. Families following international pathways can also see our IGCSE and International A Level pages.

Sources

Checked 19 October 2026. Dates and rules are for London entry in September 2027, so confirm details with your home borough.