Family guide
School year and intake timing
Most families ask when they should apply. The more useful question is where the intake points actually fall for the year group your child is entering, and how far from one of them your move lands.
Prepared by InternationalSchools.orgPublished July 2026Last reviewed July 2026
In short
- The main intake is the start of the school year. Everything else is filling a place that has become free.
- Applications for a main intake typically open many months ahead, and popular year groups close first.
- A mid-year start is normal in international schooling. It is hardest in examination years, not in general.
- Time the application to the school's calendar, not to your relocation date, then manage the gap between them.
Two words that get confused
Intake
Availability
A school can therefore tell you truthfully that the intake has closed and, a month later, offer a place. The intake is a planning event. Availability is an accident of who moved away. Understanding the difference stops a closed intake from reading as a closed door.
How the calendar differs by region and system
An international school follows the host country's school year, whichever curriculum it teaches.
Usual start of the school year
- Northern-hemisphere schools
- Late August or early September
- IB schools
- Late July, August or early September, depending on the host country
- Southern-hemisphere schools
- Late March or April
Main intake point
- Northern-hemisphere schools
- The start of the year, with the largest cohort change
- IB schools
- The start of the year, with a smaller second intake after the winter break in some schools
- Southern-hemisphere schools
- The start of the year, with limited movement afterwards
Practical mid-year entry
- Northern-hemisphere schools
- Common where a place exists, harder in examination years
- IB schools
- Possible, though a mid-programme join is more demanding
- Southern-hemisphere schools
- Possible but less common, since the year is already well advanced by the northern autumn
What drives the calendar
- Northern-hemisphere schools
- Northern-hemisphere convention and the host regulator's term structure
- IB schools
- The host country's calendar, since programmes are taught inside local school years
- Southern-hemisphere schools
- Southern-hemisphere convention
| Attribute | Northern-hemisphere schools | IB schools | Southern-hemisphere schools |
|---|---|---|---|
| Usual start of the school year | Late August or early September | Late July, August or early September, depending on the host country | Late March or April |
| Main intake point | The start of the year, with the largest cohort change | The start of the year, with a smaller second intake after the winter break in some schools | The start of the year, with limited movement afterwards |
| Practical mid-year entry | Common where a place exists, harder in examination years | Possible, though a mid-programme join is more demanding | Possible but less common, since the year is already well advanced by the northern autumn |
| What drives the calendar | Northern-hemisphere convention and the host regulator's term structure | The host country's calendar, since programmes are taught inside local school years | Southern-hemisphere convention |
This matters most when a family moves across hemispheres. A child leaving in the middle of one school year can arrive at the beginning or the end of another, and the year-group question then has to be settled alongside the timing question. See entry year and age cut-offs.
What applying early can and cannot do
Applying early does
- Put you into the first round of placement decisions for a main intake
- Give the school time to request documents and arrange any assessment
- Give you time to compare offers rather than accepting the first one
- Reduce the chance of paying for an expedited assessment or a rushed relocation
Applying early does not
- Create a place in a year group that is full
- Guarantee the year group your child is placed in
- Fix the fee schedule, which is normally set annually
- Remove the need to confirm availability again closer to the start date
Timing an application around a move
Worked example
A confirmed move in November
The posting is confirmed for November. The school year in the destination city started in August. The family has two workable options and one that rarely works.
The first option is a November start into whatever places exist, accepting a shorter list of schools. The second is a January start after the winter break, which gives admissions teams a natural entry point and the child a cleaner join. The option that rarely works is waiting for the following August while living in the city, because a long gap out of school is harder on a child than a mid-year join.
In both workable cases the family should start contacting admissions before the move, not after arrival. Availability is confirmed in conversations, not on websites.
When you are ready to start those conversations, one form opens your own private school search with a recommended shortlist and other suitable schools to explore. You then choose up to three admissions teams to contact directly. No family account is required.
Continue reading
Moving abroad with children: a timeline
What to do at twelve, six, three and one month out, and in the first weeks after arrival.
Waiting lists and availability
How places free up, what a position on a list means and what to ask.
How admissions work
Enquiry, application, assessment, offer, deposit and enrolment.
Entry year and age cut-offs
Why two schools can place the same child in different year groups.
Last reviewed: July 2026
Term dates, intake rounds and application windows are set by individual schools within the host country's regulatory calendar. Confirm dates with each school rather than assuming a regional norm.
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