School admissions in Birkenhead
How heavily each school was applied to for September 2026 entry, from the applications and offers every admissions authority reports to the DfE. 4 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.
Birkenhead in figures
For Reception places in September 2026, families named the 14 schools in Birkenhead first 420 times for 443 places: 0.95 first choices per place, against 0.98 across the Wirral authority's 84 schools. 3 of the 14 had more first choices than places. For 2026 entry, 3 schools here gave their last places on distance, from 0.45 miles (Birkenhead Christ Church CofE Primary School) to 1.26 miles (Bidston Avenue Primary 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
14 schools. 3 received more first preferences than they had places.
| School | First preferences per place | Places | Cutoff distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Birkenhead Christ Church CofE Primary School | 1.10 | 30 | 0.45 miles |
| Bidston Avenue Primary School | 1.08 | 60 | 1.26 miles |
| Co-op Academy Portland | 1.03 | 30 | 0.45 miles |
| St Werburgh's Catholic Primary School | 1.00 | 24 | not published |
| Devonshire Park Primary School | 0.97 | 33 | not published |
| The Priory Parish CofE Primary School | 0.97 | 29 | not published |
| St Anne's Catholic Primary School | 0.91 | 23 | not published |
| Well Lane Primary School | 0.90 | 21 | not published |
| Our Lady and St Edward's Catholic Primary School | 0.90 | 41 | not published |
| Bedford Drive Primary School | 0.90 | 40 | not published |
| Woodlands Primary School | 0.89 | 36 | not published |
| Holy Cross Catholic Primary School | 0.87 | 23 | not published |
| Rock Ferry Primary School | 0.81 | 32 | not published |
| Woodchurch Road Academy | 0.76 | 21 | 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.