A child is eligible for enrolment in the 1st grade of Primary School only if before the 1st of September of that particular year he/she has reached the age of 6 years old.
According to the Compulsory Education Law, attendance at Primary school is compulsory for all children who live in Cyprus and free for all children attending public primary school. Parents who fail to conform to this law are prosecuted. A child who has reached the age of 6 years old and, according to the parents, has particular learning challenges, cannot be exempted from enrolling at a Primary School.
Enrolment Period
Enrolment of Primary school pupils of all grades (1-6) takes place online and/or in person in January. Parents can be informed about the specific dates from the media.
No new classes are approved, other than those resulting from registrations which took place in January. Consequently, pupils who have not registered in January, the particular days need to register at the nearest school of their area, which has available places.
After the registration period expires, school head teachers are not allowed to enrol more pupils. For registrations or transfers after the January registration period parents need to apply to the relevant District Education Office.
Who can enrol in Public Primary schools?
All children who live in Cyprus, regardless of nationality, are eligible for enrolment, irrespective of whether their parents are legal residents or not.
Educational regions
According to the Educational Region law, pupils should register at the school belonging to their educational region. Pupils can enrol at a school of another educational region, after they obtain transfer approval from the relevant District Education Office and provided that they have already registered at the school of their educational region.
All pupils register at the school of their educational region. The revised list of educational regions is posted on the Internet around the end of December and before the registration period begins.
Pupils who enrol for the first time at a Primary school, need to first register at the school that belongs to their educational area, even if they intend to apply for transfer to another school. No application for transfer will be examined, if the pupil is not already registered at the school of his/her educational region.
Note that pupils of the 1st grade who are interested in enrolling at a Primary school outside their educational region, which their siblings are already attending (in grades 1-5), can register without having to follow the transfer procedure described above.
Certificates required for the enrolment process
For pupils who will register for the first time, the following forms / certificates are necessary:
1. Form YPAN DDE 11 - Application for Registration in Primary or Pre-Primary schools
(Compulsory Pre-Primary Education and Pre-Primary class):The form YPAN DDE 11 can be found on the Department of Primary Education website and must be completed by all parents who apply for the registration of their child for the first time in the specific Primary school.
2. Birth certificate/passport: For children who have been born in Cyprus and enrol for the first time an official birth certificate is required. For children who have been born abroad, the official birth certificate issued by the relevant authority of the country they were born in is required. A passport is also accepted as an official document. If parents do not have any official documents, pupils can be registered after all necessary information required by the school is provided and all relevant school documents are completed. Photocopies of the above documents are accepted only if they have been certified by the relevant official. It is also recommended to translate these documents in Greek or English.
3. Bills as proof of residential address: Along with the aforementioned official documents parents should also submit two bills (a refuse bill and a recent electricity bill) which indicate the pupil’s residential address. If the parents rent a house and it is not possible to provide a refuse bill, they should submit the lease document in addition to the electricity bill.
It is clarified that first grade pupils who have older siblings (in grades 1-5) attending the same school, will be accepted without confirmation of address.
4. Á copy of the relevant page of children’s’ health booklet or vaccination card which will show the vaccination status of the child and his/her name written on it.
Note that when the child starts attending the first grade of Primary school in September, it is necessary to submit an official Pre-Primary leaving certificate issued by a Pre-Primary school approved by the Ministry of Education, Sport and Youth. A list of approved community and private Pre-Primary schools is available on the website of the Ministry of Education, Sport and Youth. If upon application for registration (in January) it is found that a child is not attending an approved Pre-Primary school:
a) parents are immediately informed and asked to register the child in an approved by the Ministry of Education, Sport and Youth Pre-Primary school
b) the pupil is temporarily registered for grade 1, until the parents submit a certificate of attendance from an approved Pre-Primary school.
All the aforementioned documents/certificates need to be submitted by parents to the school upon registration.
New applications for registrations/transfers for reasons of residence change which are submitted during the registration period in January, can be carried out by the headteacher of the school to which the child intends to transfer. The necessary documents which prove the change in address need to be submitted to the school.
Note that transfers for other reasons, or because of a change in address, that cause housing or other problems to schools are only accepted after approval from the relevant District Education Office. An application form (YPAN DDE 33) should be submitted to the office mentioned above.
All the information mentioned above applies only during the registration period in January. After this period, parents must apply to the relevant District Education Office.
Schools and parents are informed about the results of transfer applications by the end of January.
Prior to the confirmation of the registrations, which usually takes place within the month of April, the schools and parents who have submitted a late application for registration/transfer or submitted appeals towards earlier decisions, are informed about the results of the process.
Grade retention (Stagnation) - Suspension of Primary school attendance - Extension of Primary school attendance
A child may be required to repeat the same grade for a second consecutive year, upon the school's recommendation, following a thorough assessment of their interest. This can only happen once during the child's enrollment in primary school, after approval by the relevant Chief Education Officer as well as informing the school and the parents or guardians.
If, in the judgment of the pre-primary school teacher and the headteacher of the pre-primary school, a child who is of age or older than the age of entry into primary school must remain in pre-primary school, then a recommendation for the suspension of the child's attendance is made by the headteacher of the pre-primary school. Following approval by the respective Chief Education Officer, the suspension of the child's attendance in the first grade of primary school can be ensured for a period not exceeding one year. In exceptional cases, suspension of attendance for a second year may be granted, provided that it is proven that the child's continued stay in pre-primary school will have educational benefits for him/her.
If on September 1st of the school year for which enrollment or continuation of the child’s attendance is requested, the child is older than 13 years old, an extension of the child’s attendance may be granted upon request of the parent and approval of the respective Chief Education Officer. The extension of attendance in primary school cannot exceed one year.
The forms for extension of attendance (YPAN DDE 35) must be submitted to Primary schools during the registration period in January.
Primary schools and parents are informed about the results of their applications for extension of attendance by the end of January while information about the results of suspension of attendance application the notification of Primary Schools about approved and unapproved retentions takes place usually in April before the confirmation of enrolment.
Vaccinations which pupils should have before starting Primary school
On starting Primary school, children should have had the following vaccinations:
1. Diphtheria, Tetanus, Pertussis (DTP or DTaP)
2. Poliomyelitis (Polio)
3. Measles, Mumps, Rubella (MMR)
4. Hepatitis B (Hep B)
5. Meningococcal C conjugate (Men C)/ Another vaccine containing Meningococcus.
6. Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) *
7. Pneumococcal conjugate (PCV) *
*The Hib and PCV vaccines are recommended to be given by the age of 5 years (beginning vaccination at the age of 2 months).
During the registration of their children, parents must submit a copy of the relevant pages of their children’s’ health booklet or vaccination card which will show the vaccination status of the child and his/her name written on it.
Confirmation of registration
Confirmation of registration in Public Primary schools takes place online and/or in person, usually in April. The specific dates are announced by the media. All parents must confirm the registration of their child/children to ensure his/their place in the particular school.
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