School admissions in Ferndown
How heavily each school was applied to for September 2026 entry, from the applications and offers every admissions authority reports to the DfE. 5 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.
Ferndown in figures
For Reception places in September 2026, families named the 4 schools in Ferndown first 205 times for 206 places: 1.00 first choices per place, against 1.00 across the Dorset authority's 118 schools. 3 of the 4 had more first choices than places. For 2026 entry, 3 schools here gave their last places on distance, from 1.17 miles (Oakhurst Community First School) to 1.47 miles (St Mary's CofE First School & Nursery).
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. 3 received more first preferences than they had places.
| School | First preferences per place | Places | Cutoff distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parley First School | 1.14 | 58 | 1.421 miles |
| St Mary's CofE First School & Nursery | 1.10 | 29 | 1.471 miles |
| Oakhurst Community First School | 1.03 | 30 | 1.169 miles |
| Ferndown First School | 0.85 | 89 | 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.