The Department of Education has this week opened the application window for Nursery and  Reception enrolments for the 2022/2023 academic year. 

A statement from the Government follows below:

As was the case last year, the  application process will be conducted in an electronic manner. Applications will be received  and processed digitally, with interested parents and carers being directed to the Department  of Education’s website at www.education.gov.gi. 

Parents / carers ordinarily resident in Gibraltar are able to register children who they wish to  start Nursery and / or who are due to start Reception in September 2022. 

Nursery enrolments are open to children born between 1st September 2018 and 31st August  2019. 

Reception enrolments are open to children born between 1st September 2017 and 31st  August 2018 who are not currently attending a Government Nursery. Children attending a  Government Nursery do not need to re-enrol. 

Parents / carers are requested to register their children as soon as possible by completing the  online enrolment form available at www.education.gov.gi. Together with the completion of all  required information on the electronic form, parents / carers will need to upload a number of  documents. These include a long version of the child’s birth certificate, evidence of residence  in Gibraltar (e.g ID Card/Permit of Residence is required) and a recent local water and  electricity bill. Once the electronic form and relevant uploads have been completed, the  enrolment form will be processed by the enrolment team at the Department of Education. 

Once processed, parents / carers will receive communication from the Department of  Education confirming their child’s catchment school allocation. Individuals wishing to request  an alternative school to their catchment school allocation will be able to request a transfer at  this later stage. 

The closing date for enrolments is 8th April 2022. Enrolments made after the closing date  may be considered, but please note that the Department of Education will not necessarily be  able to provide a placement within the catchment area. 

The Department of Education will very carefully scrutinise all applications for eligibility,  particularly from the point of view of residency. This will be extended to pupils already at school, who, if found not to be entitled to Education in Gibraltar will be advised to make  alternative arrangements as from the end of this academic year. 

Parents / carers are advised that the Department of Education is actively reviewing  catchment areas with a view to ensuring that these are as geographically appropriate as  possible. This exercise will also help to ensure that pupil distributions across schools provide  the best possible pupil : staff ratios. A powerful and versatile Geographic Information System  (GIS) will be used to inform this process and will allow the Department of Education to  manage catchment areas in a more dynamic manner which, over time, will facilitate more  effective responses to the changing needs of our community’s demographic. 

Any queries regarding the enrolment process should be emailed to  [email protected].