School admissions in Buckingham
How heavily each school was applied to for September 2026 entry, from the applications and offers every admissions authority reports to the DfE. 9 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.
Buckingham in figures
For Reception places in September 2026, families named the 13 schools in Buckingham first 290 times for 297 places: 0.98 first choices per place. 0 of the 13 had more first choices than places. For 2025 entry, one school here gave its last places on distance: Padbury Church of England School, to 3.20 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
13 schools. 0 received more first preferences than they had places.
| School | First preferences per place | Places | Cutoff distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Buckingham Primary School | 1.00 | 39 | not published |
| Lace Hill Academy | 1.00 | 22 | not published |
| North Marston Church of England School | 1.00 | 13 | 3.261 miles |
| Roundwood Primary School | 1.00 | 20 | 2.5 miles |
| Steeple Claydon School and Pre-School | 1.00 | 18 | not published |
| Thornborough Infant School | 1.00 | 12 | not published |
| Winslow Church of England School | 1.00 | 47 | not published |
| Bourton Meadow Academy | 0.98 | 62 | not published |
| St James and St John CofE Primary School | 0.94 | 16 | 1.225 miles |
| George Grenville Academy | 0.93 | 15 | 0.476 miles |
| Padbury Church of England School | 0.92 | 13 | 3.201 miles |
| Twyford C of E School | 0.90 | 10 | 1.873 miles |
| Finmere Church of England Primary School | 0.80 | 10 | 2.615 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.