The data · England by council
Which councils make a first-choice school hardest to get? 2026
In Kensington and Chelsea about seven in ten families got their first-choice primary; in Nottinghamshire nearly all did. At secondary the range runs from Barnet to Cornwall.
The national average (see the 13-year picture) hides a wide spread. Counting only councils with at least 25 schools in the data, the share of families offered the primary they named first runs from 70.8% in Kensington and Chelsea to 98.7% in Nottinghamshire.
At secondary the lowest is 67.1% in Liverpool, then Barnet (68.6%) and Buckinghamshire (70.9%). The highest is Cornwall, at 97.7%.
Kent and Buckinghamshire run grammar-school systems. Some first choices there are places a child must pass a test to win, so a low rate there may not mean ordinary places are scarce.
Where the most first-choice families missed out
These are the schools in 2026 with the largest number of families who named them first and were not offered a place. The count says how many families wanted the school, not how good it is.
| School | Council | Named it first | Offered it | Missed out |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liverpool College | Liverpool | 255 | 83 | 172 |
| Al-Noor Voluntary Aided Muslim Primary School | Redbridge | 201 | 60 | 141 |
| Fox Primary School | Kensington and Chelsea | 140 | 55 | 85 |
| Avanti House Primary School | Harrow | 135 | 55 | 80 |
| The Olive School, Preston | Lancashire | 135 | 60 | 75 |
| Leigh Academy Cherry Orchard | Kent | 132 | 58 | 74 |
| School | Council | Named it first | Offered it | Missed out |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brampton Manor Academy | Newham | 1,161 | 430 | 731 |
| Kingsdale Foundation School | Southwark | 964 | 336 | 628 |
| Dartford Grammar School | Kent | 569 | 149 | 420 |
| The Blue Coat CofE School | Oldham | 611 | 228 | 383 |
| Northampton School for Boys | West Northamptonshire | 571 | 206 | 365 |
| Landau Forte College | Derby | 517 | 162 | 355 |
How this was worked out
- As in the national piece: for each school, families who named it first and how many were offered it, added up by the school's council for September 2026.
- Only councils with at least 25 schools with first-choice applicants are ranked: 122 for primary and 28 for secondary.
- Councils are matched to schools by the school's local authority in the Get Information About Schools register.
What these figures cannot tell you
- The council is the school's, not the family's. Families in London, and near any council border, apply across boundaries, so a council's rate reflects its schools' intake, not its residents'.
- A low rate can come from one cause (a selective system, a few popular faith schools) as easily as from a general shortage of places.
- Some councils have few secondary schools in the file, so one school can move the figure.
Sources
- DfE: Primary and secondary school applications and offers (2026/27 release, published 18 June 2026) · school-level file, Open Government Licence
- DfE: Get Information About Schools · each school's council
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