School admissions in Ilford
How heavily each school was applied to for September 2026 entry, from the applications and offers every admissions authority reports to the DfE. 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.
Reception places, September 2026
33 schools. 7 received more first preferences than they had places.
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
12 schools. 4 received more first preferences than they had places.
| School | First preferences per place | Places | Cutoff distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Seven Kings School | 4.89 | 53 | 0.563 miles |
| Ark Isaac Newton Academy | 2.18 | 83 | 0.653 miles |
| Valentines High School | 1.64 | 171 | 1.15 miles |
| Ilford County High School | 1.44 | 179 | not published |
| Loxford School | 0.99 | 175 | 1.489 miles |
| The Ursuline Academy Ilford | 0.82 | 119 | 0.149 miles |
| The Palmer Catholic Academy | 0.65 | 186 | 2.961 miles |
| Beal High School | 0.58 | 343 | 3.193 miles |
| Forest Academy | 0.55 | 134 | not published |
| King Solomon High School | 0.50 | 80 | 5.107 miles |
| Oaks Park High School | 0.44 | 285 | 2.338 miles |
| Caterham High School | 0.41 | 117 | 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.