School admissions in Guildford

How heavily each school was applied to for September 2026 entry, from the applications and offers every admissions authority reports to the DfE. 29 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.

Guildford in figures

For Reception places in September 2026, families named the 22 schools in Guildford first 784 times for 814 places: 0.96 first choices per place, against 0.99 across the Surrey authority's 247 schools. 4 of the 22 had more first choices than places. For 2025 entry, one school here gave its last places on distance: Onslow Infant School, to 1.12 miles.

For Year 7 places in September 2026, families named the 5 schools in Guildford first 956 times for 957 places: 1.00 first choices per place, against 1.00 across the Surrey authority's 57 schools. 2 of the 5 had more first choices than places. For 2026 entry, one school here gave its last places on distance: Guildford County School, to 0.94 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

22 schools. 4 received more first preferences than they had places.

School	First preferences per place	Places	Cutoff distance
St Nicolas' Church of England Infant SchoolGuildford	1.33	30	not published
Wonersh and Shamley Green CofE Aided Primary SchoolGuildford	1.23	30	not published
Normandy Village SchoolGuildford	1.21	29	not published
St Joseph's Catholic Primary SchoolGuildford	1.19	86	not published
Merrow CofE Controlled Infant SchoolGuildford	1.00	23	not published
Peaslake Free SchoolGuildford	1.00	13	not published
Sandfield Primary SchoolGuildford	1.00	26	not published
Shere CofE Aided Infant SchoolGuildford	1.00	14	not published
Boxgrove Primary SchoolGuildford	0.99	79	2.455 km (≈1.53 mi) 2019
St Thomas of Canterbury Catholic Primary SchoolGuildford	0.96	49	not published
Chilworth CofE (Aided) Infant SchoolGuildford	0.96	24	not published
Burpham Primary SchoolGuildford	0.93	54	not published
Pewley Down Infant SchoolGuildford	0.92	60	not published
Stoughton Infant SchoolGuildford	0.90	87	not published
Weyfield Primary AcademyGuildford	0.88	17	not published
Shalford Infant SchoolGuildford	0.87	30	2.693 km (≈1.67 mi) 2020
Onslow Infant SchoolGuildford	0.85	47	1.805 km (≈1.12 mi) 2025
Guildford Grove Primary SchoolGuildford	0.83	29	not published
Bramley CofE Infant School and NurseryGuildford	0.73	26	not published
Puttenham CofE Infant SchoolGuildford	0.70	23	not published
Clandon CofE Aided Primary SchoolGuildford	0.62	8	not published
Cranleigh Church of England Primary SchoolGuildford	0.60	30	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

5 schools. 2 received more first preferences than they had places.

School	First preferences per place	Places	Cutoff distance
Guildford County SchoolGuildford	1.39	171	1.515 km (≈0.94 mi) 2026
St Peter's Catholic SchoolGuildford	1.26	206	not published
George Abbot SchoolGuildford	0.97	294	not published
Kings College GuildfordGuildford	0.78	121	not published
Christ's College, GuildfordGuildford	0.49	165	not published