School admissions in Barnet
How heavily each school was applied to for September 2026 entry, from the applications and offers every admissions authority reports to the DfE. 16 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.
Barnet in figures
For Reception places in September 2026, families named the 13 schools in Barnet first 518 times for 505 places: 1.03 first choices per place. 7 of the 13 had more first choices than places.
For Year 7 places in September 2026, families named the 5 schools in Barnet first 1,063 times for 1,006 places: 1.06 first choices per place. 2 of the 5 had more first choices than places. For 2025 entry, 3 schools here gave their last places on distance, from 0.77 miles (East Barnet School) to 3.15 miles (Southgate School).
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
13 schools. 7 received more first preferences than they had places.
| School | First preferences per place | Places |
|---|---|---|
| Livingstone Primary and Nursery School | 2.39 | 28 |
| Monken Hadley CofE Primary School | 1.65 | 20 |
| Foulds School | 1.20 | 44 |
| Whitings Hill Primary School | 1.18 | 60 |
| Trent CofE Primary School | 1.07 | 30 |
| St Mary's CofE Primary School, East Barnet | 1.03 | 29 |
| St Catherine's RC School | 1.02 | 60 |
| Watling Park School | 0.91 | 43 |
| Underhill School | 0.83 | 30 |
| Danegrove Primary School | 0.81 | 58 |
| Christ Church Primary School | 0.67 | 24 |
| Cromer Road Primary School | 0.59 | 58 |
| Church Hill School | 0.48 | 21 |
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
5 schools. 2 received more first preferences than they had places.
| School | First preferences per place | Places | Cutoff distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Queen Elizabeth's School, Barnet | 2.25 | 192 | not published |
| East Barnet School | 1.06 | 200 | 0.769 miles |
| Ark Pioneer Academy | 0.98 | 170 | 1.132 miles |
| Queen Elizabeth's Girls' School | 0.72 | 204 | 4.263 miles |
| Southgate School | 0.44 | 240 | 3.153 miles |
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.