School admissions in Grays
How heavily each school was applied to for September 2026 entry, from the applications and offers every admissions authority reports to the DfE. None of these schools has 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.
Grays in figures
For Reception places in September 2026, families named the 16 schools in Grays first 954 times for 942 places: 1.01 first choices per place, against 1.00 across the Thurrock authority's 39 schools. 3 of the 16 had more first choices than places.
For Year 7 places in September 2026, families named the 7 schools in Grays first 1,268 times for 1,227 places: 1.03 first choices per place, against 0.98 across the Thurrock authority's 13 schools. 4 of the 7 had more first choices than places.
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
16 schools. 3 received more first preferences than they had places.
| School | First preferences per place | Places |
|---|---|---|
| Quarry Hill Academy | 1.66 | 58 |
| Stifford Clays Primary School | 1.21 | 57 |
| Harris Primary Academy Chafford Hundred | 1.09 | 88 |
| Tudor Court Primary School | 0.98 | 60 |
| Deneholm Primary School | 0.98 | 57 |
| Belmont Castle Academy | 0.98 | 90 |
| Orsett Church of England Primary School | 0.97 | 30 |
| Herringham Primary Academy | 0.96 | 49 |
| Warren Primary School | 0.93 | 60 |
| Thameside Primary School | 0.93 | 86 |
| Little Thurrock Primary School | 0.92 | 75 |
| St Thomas of Canterbury Catholic Primary School | 0.91 | 45 |
| The Gateway Primary Free School | 0.91 | 45 |
| Woodside Academy | 0.90 | 69 |
| Chadwell St Mary Primary School | 0.89 | 28 |
| West Thurrock Academy | 0.89 | 45 |
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
7 schools. 4 received more first preferences than they had places.
| School | First preferences per place | Places |
|---|---|---|
| Harris Academy Chafford Hundred | 1.81 | 207 |
| The Gateway Academy | 1.12 | 208 |
| Orsett Heath Academy | 1.09 | 235 |
| Thames Park Secondary School | 1.03 | 171 |
| Grays Convent High School | 0.60 | 137 |
| William Edwards School | 0.57 | 159 |
| The Hathaway Academy | 0.51 | 110 |
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.