School admissions in Ashbourne

How heavily each school was applied to for September 2026 entry, from the applications and offers every admissions authority reports to the DfE. Sorted by first preferences per place. We don't invent rankings: the order is arithmetic on a published figure, not a view about which school is better.

Reception places, September 2026

20 schools. 5 received more first preferences than they had places.

School	First preferences per place	Places
Clifton CofE Primary SchoolAshbourne	1.53	15
Norbury CofE Primary SchoolAshbourne	1.33	12
St Oswald's CofE Primary SchoolAshbourne	1.17	30
Osmaston CofE (VC) Primary SchoolAshbourne	1.15	20
Doveridge Primary SchoolAshbourne	1.12	16
Bradley CofE Primary SchoolAshbourne	1.00	1
Fitzherbert CofE (Aided) Primary SchoolAshbourne	1.00	3
Ilam Church of England Primary SchoolAshbourne	1.00	2
Kirk Ireton C of E Primary SchoolAshbourne	1.00	4
Long Lane Church of England Primary SchoolAshbourne	1.00	3
Mugginton CofE Primary SchoolAshbourne	1.00	13
St Augustine's CofE AcademyAshbourne	1.00	4
Brailsford CofE Primary SchoolAshbourne	0.91	23
Longford CofE Primary SchoolAshbourne	0.91	11
Hilltop Primary AcademyAshbourne	0.85	20
Kniveton CofE Primary SchoolAshbourne	0.83	12
Kirk Langley CofE Primary SchoolAshbourne	0.82	11
Ashbourne Primary SchoolAshbourne	0.79	24
Hulland CofE Primary & Nursery SchoolAshbourne	0.71	7
Marston Montgomery Primary SchoolAshbourne	0.00	2

First preferences per place is the number of families naming the school first, divided by its published admission number. Above 1.00 means more first choices than places. It is not a ranking and not a measure of quality: a popular school can be easy to get into and a quiet one hard, because places are allocated by each school's own criteria, siblings and faith and banding first, with distance often the last tie-breaker. Applications and offers on national offer day, DfE.