School admissions in Ipswich
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
60 schools. 9 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
11 schools. 5 received more first preferences than they had places.
| School | First preferences per place | Places | Cutoff distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Northgate High School | 1.34 | 235 | 0.71 miles |
| Claydon High School | 1.21 | 148 | 1.869 miles |
| Kesgrave High School | 1.15 | 294 | 5.292 miles |
| Chantry Academy | 1.09 | 202 | 0.265 miles |
| Copleston High School | 1.08 | 319 | 1.166 miles |
| Hadleigh High School | 0.94 | 128 | not published |
| Ormiston Endeavour Academy | 0.93 | 174 | 1.571 miles |
| St Alban's Catholic High School | 0.87 | 164 | 1.463 miles |
| Holbrook Academy | 0.83 | 83 | 4.248 miles |
| Stoke High School - Ormiston Academy | 0.69 | 167 | not published |
| Ipswich Academy | 0.69 | 200 | 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.