Airedale Junior Academy and Castleford Academy Trust have adopted and follow the school admission arrangements of our local authority, Wakefield Metropolitan District Council (WMDC).
All applications for places at our academy (school years 3 to 6) must be completed and submitted to Wakefield Council School Admissions Team who will process your application on our behalf.
School place applications must be made by someone with legal Parental Responsibility for a child. All applications will be treated fairly and school places will be allocated in accordance with the relevant published admissions criteria. Our planned admissions numbers for the 2025/2026 academic year are 120 pupils per year group, 480 in total.
Visits to our academy are warmly welcome, for further information on school admissions at Airedale Junior Academy or to arrange a visit, please contact Ms V Till by calling 01977 556946 or emailing AJS-Office@aja.castlefordtrust.co.uk.
Applications for Year 3 to start in September 2026. School places in Year 3 are NOT automatically allocated when finishing Year 2 at infant schools/academies, parents and carers will need to submit online application(s) for junior or primary schools/academies . The Parent Portal will open on the 1st November 2025 and remain open until the national closing date for on-time applications on the 15th January 2026. The national offer date is yet to be confirmed but it is usually around Easter time (March/April). The WMDC online application system is for Wakefield Residents only, if you are not a Wakefield resident, please contact the local authority where you live.
Please click the link to be redirected to Wakefield Council’s Primary Guide for School Admissions Applications – Primary Guide for Parents 2025 and 2026
Mid/In Year Transfer Applications. If you would like to apply for a place at Airedale Junior Academy either during our current academic year, or at the end of the year when there is not normally a transfer to another school, please contact Wakefield Council’s School Admissions Team or our main academy office to request a paper application form. The application form is made up of two parts, Part A should be completed by a parent or carer and Part B should be completed by your child’s current school, academy or education provider. Completed applications, along with any supporting documentation, must be submitted to Wakefield Council School Admissions Team. Applications will only be processed once School Admissions have received both completed parts of an application and aim to allocate a school place within 15 school days.
School Admission Appeals Following submission and processing of an admissions application, you will receive notification of the outcome. This may be an offer of a place at your first preference choice or an offer at a lower preference choice. If your child has been refused a place at a school that you have indicated as a preference on your application form, then you have the right to an appeal against this decision. Wakefield Council School Admissions Team will manage school place appeals on our behalf.
Wakefield Council School Admissions Team Please find herewith contact details for the Admissions Team at Wakefield Council:-
School Admissions Wakefield Council PO Box 700 Burton Street Wakefield WF1 2EB Telephone: – 01924 306052 Email: – admissions@wakefield.gov.uk