School admissions in Basingstoke
How heavily each school was applied to for September 2026 entry, from the applications and offers every admissions authority reports to the DfE. 35 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.
Basingstoke in figures
For Reception places in September 2026, families named the 30 schools in Basingstoke first 1,467 times for 1,475 places: 0.99 first choices per place, against 1.00 across the Hampshire authority's 324 schools. 9 of the 30 had more first choices than places. For 2026 entry, 6 schools here gave their last places on distance, from 0.25 miles (Great Binfields Primary School) to 3.01 miles (Oakley Infant School).
For Year 7 places in September 2026, families named the 7 schools in Basingstoke first 1,307 times for 1,299 places: 1.01 first choices per place, against 0.99 across the Hampshire authority's 69 schools. 3 of the 7 had more first choices than places. For 2024 entry, one school here gave its last places on distance: Cranbourne, to 2.05 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
30 schools. 9 received more first preferences than they had places.
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
7 schools. 3 received more first preferences than they had places.
| School | First preferences per place | Places | Cutoff distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bishop Challoner Catholic Secondary School | 1.75 | 166 | not published |
| The Vyne Community School | 1.30 | 135 | 0.61 miles |
| Cranbourne | 1.06 | 224 | 2.051 miles |
| Brighton Hill Community School | 0.99 | 242 | 0.927 miles |
| The Costello School | 0.89 | 211 | 0.652 miles |
| Everest Community Academy | 0.87 | 141 | not published |
| The Blue Coat School Basingstoke | 0.31 | 180 | 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.