School admissions in Harlow

How heavily each school was applied to for September 2026 entry, from the applications and offers every admissions authority reports to the DfE. 9 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.

Harlow in figures

For Reception places in September 2026, families named the 30 schools in Harlow first 1,172 times for 1,178 places: 0.99 first choices per place, against 1.00 across the Essex authority's 411 schools. 6 of the 30 had more first choices than places. For 2026 entry, 8 schools here gave their last places on distance, from 0.21 miles (Pemberley Academy) to 3.24 miles (Matching Green Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School).

For Year 7 places in September 2026, families named the 6 schools in Harlow first 1,006 times for 1,082 places: 0.93 first choices per place, against 1.00 across the Essex authority's 78 schools. 2 of the 6 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

30 schools. 6 received more first preferences than they had places.

School	First preferences per place	Places	Cutoff distance
Hare Street Community Primary School and NurseryHarlow	1.63	60	0.254 miles 2026
Pemberley AcademyHarlow	1.43	30	0.211 miles 2026
Newhall Primary AcademyHarlow	1.42	60	0.242 miles 2026
Kingsmoor AcademyHarlow	1.37	30	0.291 miles 2026
Matching Green Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary SchoolHarlow	1.21	14	3.236 miles 2026
Purford Green Primary SchoolHarlow	1.13	30	not published
Church Langley Community Primary SchoolHarlow	0.98	60	0.551 miles 2026
William Martin Church of England Infant and Nursery SchoolHarlow	0.97	36	not published
St Luke's Catholic AcademyHarlow	0.97	30	0.996 miles 2026
Milwards Primary School and NurseryHarlow	0.97	29	not published
Pear Tree Mead AcademyHarlow	0.96	45	not published
Latton Green Primary AcademyHarlow	0.95	21	not published
Cooks Spinney Primary Academy and NurseryHarlow	0.93	59	not published
Longwood Primary AcademyHarlow	0.93	58	not published
Katherines Primary Academy and NurseryHarlow	0.93	28	not published
St James Church of England Primary SchoolHarlow	0.90	21	not published
Henry Moore Primary SchoolHarlow	0.90	82	not published
Jerounds Primary AcademyHarlow	0.90	41	not published
Holy Cross Catholic Primary School, HarlowHarlow	0.90	50	not published
The Downs Primary School and NurseryHarlow	0.90	39	not published
Water Lane Primary AcademyHarlow	0.87	23	not published
Churchgate Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School, HarlowHarlow	0.87	30	0.708 miles 2026
St Alban's Catholic AcademyHarlow	0.87	30	not published
Abbotsweld Primary AcademyHarlow	0.86	37	not published
Roydon Primary AcademyHarlow	0.86	29	not published
Tany's Dell Primary School and NurseryHarlow	0.86	50	not published
Potter Street AcademyHarlow	0.86	21	not published
Freshwaters Primary AcademyHarlow	0.84	57	not published
Harlowbury Primary SchoolHarlow	0.73	30	not published
Little Parndon Primary AcademyHarlow	0.73	48	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

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

School	First preferences per place	Places
St Mark's West Essex Catholic SchoolHarlow	1.09	180
Passmores AcademyHarlow	1.03	229
Sir Frederick Gibberd CollegeHarlow	0.89	138
Mark Hall AcademyHarlow	0.86	155
Stewards Academy - Science Specialist, HarlowHarlow	0.83	171
Burnt Mill AcademyHarlow	0.83	209