School admissions in Emsworth
How heavily each school was applied to for September 2026 entry, from the applications and offers every admissions authority reports to the DfE. 3 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.
Emsworth in figures
For Reception places in September 2026, families named the 4 schools in Emsworth first 147 times for 157 places: 0.94 first choices per place. 0 of the 4 had more first choices than places. For 2026 entry, one school here gave its last places on distance: St James Church of England Controlled Primary School, to 1.11 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
4 schools. 0 received more first preferences than they had places.
| School | First preferences per place | Places | Cutoff distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| St James Church of England Controlled Primary School | 1.00 | 30 | 1.11 miles |
| Southbourne Infant School | 0.93 | 46 | not published |
| Thorney Island Community Primary School | 0.93 | 28 | not published |
| Emsworth Primary School | 0.91 | 53 | 2.54 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.