School admissions in Farnborough
How heavily each school was applied to for September 2026 entry, from the applications and offers every admissions authority reports to the DfE. 15 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.
Farnborough in figures
For Reception places in September 2026, families named the 14 schools in Farnborough first 547 times for 560 places: 0.98 first choices per place, against 1.00 across the Hampshire authority's 324 schools. 4 of the 14 had more first choices than places. For 2026 entry, 3 schools here gave their last places on distance, from 0.93 miles (Tower Hill Primary School) to 1.10 miles (Cove Infant School).
For Year 7 places in September 2026, families named the 3 schools in Farnborough first 502 times for 520 places: 0.97 first choices per place, against 0.99 across the Hampshire authority's 69 schools. One of the 3 had more first choices than places. For 2022 entry, one school here gave its last places on distance: The Wavell School, to 0.23 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
14 schools. 4 received more first preferences than they had places.
| School | First preferences per place | Places | Cutoff distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| St Mark's Church of England Primary School | 1.73 | 15 | not published |
| Pinewood Infant School | 1.66 | 29 | 0.83 miles |
| Tower Hill Primary School | 1.14 | 59 | 0.93 miles |
| St Patrick's Catholic Primary School | 1.03 | 30 | not published |
| St Bernadette's Catholic Primary School | 1.00 | 30 | not published |
| Parsonage Farm Nursery and Infant School | 0.98 | 60 | 1.04 miles |
| Farnborough Grange Nursery & Infant Community School | 0.97 | 38 | not published |
| Southwood Infant School | 0.88 | 32 | 1.42 miles |
| South Farnborough Infant School | 0.87 | 86 | 0.77 miles |
| Manor Infant School | 0.85 | 34 | 0.7 miles |
| North Farnborough Infant School | 0.84 | 43 | 1.08 miles |
| Cove Infant School | 0.81 | 59 | 1.1 miles |
| Cherrywood Community Primary School | 0.78 | 27 | not published |
| The Ferns Primary Academy | 0.67 | 18 | 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.
Year 7 places, September 2026
3 schools. 1 received more first preferences than they had places.
| School | First preferences per place | Places | Cutoff distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Wavell School | 1.19 | 204 | 0.228 miles |
| Bohunt Farnborough | 0.86 | 137 | not published |
| Cove School | 0.79 | 179 | 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.