PARENTS of children due to start school in September 2005 need to act now to secure a place.
Important changes have been made to the admission arrangements for primary schools for 2005/06 which has seen the closing date for applications brought forward by two months to November 2004.
Parents of children who were born between September 1, 2000, and August 31, 2001, and will have their fourth birthday by the end of August 2005, need to complete application form CR2 and send it to their first preference school before midday on Friday, November 19.
Hampshire County Council has prepared a brochure, entitled A Parent's Guide to Applying for a School Place in Hampshire, which is available, along with the application form, from the child's local infant or primary school.
Parents are encouraged to read these guidelines carefully and seek as much information as possible about the school they plan to apply to before completing the application form.
Don Allen, Hampshire County Council's executive member for education, said: "Choosing the right school for your child is very important. Parents should find out as much as they can on the schools they are considering and think about how they will get their child to school.
"I would urge parents to act promptly to ensure a smooth entry to school for their child by completing and submitting the form by November 19 and would then ask them to ensure that friends and neighbours with young children are aware of these new arrangements."
More advice and information is available from the admissions team at the county education office on the following numbers: 01962 846004/846001/846020/846038.
Information is also available on Hampshire County Council's website at http://www.hants.gov.uk/education/schools">www.hants.gov.uk/education/schools with links to individual school websites.