School admissions in Barking
How heavily each school was applied to for September 2026 entry, from the applications and offers every admissions authority reports to the DfE. 7 of these schools also have a published admissions cutoff distance. 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.
Barking in figures
For Reception places in September 2026, families named the 11 schools in Barking first 778 times for 769 places: 1.01 first choices per place, against 0.99 across the Barking and Dagenham authority's 44 schools. 3 of the 11 had more first choices than places. For 2025 entry, 2 schools here gave their last places on distance, from 0.48 miles (Eastbury Community School) to 1.48 miles (Northbury Primary School).
For Year 7 places in September 2026, families named the 4 schools in Barking first 891 times for 989 places: 0.90 first choices per place, against 0.93 across the Barking and Dagenham authority's 12 schools. One of the 4 had more first choices than places. For 2026 entry, one school here gave its last places on distance: Barking Abbey School, A Specialist Sports and Humanities College, to 1.19 miles.
Totals for the schools listed on this page. Applications and offers on national offer day, DfE; last-offer distances as the council published them.
Reception places, September 2026
11 schools. 3 received more first preferences than they had places.
| School | First preferences per place | Places | Cutoff distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Eastbury Community School | 1.22 | 60 | 0.776 km (≈0.48 mi) |
| Thames View Infants | 1.08 | 120 | 3.2842 km (≈2.04 mi) |
| Greatfields Primary School | 1.03 | 30 | not published |
| Northbury Primary School | 1.00 | 77 | 2.382 km (≈1.48 mi) |
| Ripple Primary School | 1.00 | 28 | not published |
| St Joseph's Catholic Primary School | 1.00 | 37 | not published |
| Riverside Primary School | 0.99 | 86 | not published |
| George Carey Church of England Primary School | 0.98 | 64 | 1.1158 km (≈0.69 mi) |
| Gascoigne Primary School | 0.97 | 127 | 0.7667 km (≈0.48 mi) |
| St Margarets CofE Primary School | 0.95 | 59 | not published |
| Eastbury Primary School | 0.93 | 81 | not published |
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.
Year 7 places, September 2026
4 schools. 1 received more first preferences than they had places.
| School | First preferences per place | Places | Cutoff distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Barking Abbey School, A Specialist Sports and Humanities College | 1.18 | 359 | 1.908 km (≈1.19 mi) |
| Greatfields School | 0.87 | 166 | not published |
| Riverside School | 0.74 | 294 | not published |
| Eastbury Community School | 0.61 | 170 | 1.504 km (≈0.93 mi) |
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.