School admissions in Luton
How heavily each school was applied to for September 2026 entry, from the applications and offers every admissions authority reports to the DfE. 22 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.
Luton in figures
For Reception places in September 2026, families named the 44 schools in Luton first 2,858 times for 2,883 places: 0.99 first choices per place. 9 of the 44 had more first choices than places. For 2026 entry, 12 schools here gave their last places on distance, from 0.32 miles (Someries Infant School and Early Childhood Education Centre) to 2.22 miles (St Mary's Catholic Primary School).
For Year 7 places in September 2026, families named the 14 schools in Luton first 3,100 times for 3,175 places: 0.98 first choices per place. 5 of the 14 had more first choices than places. For 2026 entry, 7 schools here gave their last places on distance, from 0.77 miles (Challney High School for Girls) to 2.14 miles (Lealands High School).
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
44 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
14 schools. 5 received more first preferences than they had places.
| School | First preferences per place | Places | Cutoff distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Denbigh High School | 2.05 | 208 | not published |
| Chiltern Academy | 1.19 | 228 | 1.062 miles |
| Putteridge High School | 1.17 | 234 | 1.329 miles |
| Challney High School for Girls | 1.06 | 219 | 0.768 miles |
| The Chalk Hills Academy | 1.06 | 290 | 1.33 miles |
| Cardinal Newman Catholic School A Specialist Science College | 0.96 | 261 | not published |
| Lealands High School | 0.95 | 204 | 2.14 miles |
| Challney High School for Boys | 0.95 | 230 | 1.096 miles |
| Manshead Church of England Academy | 0.86 | 189 | not published |
| Icknield High School | 0.82 | 292 | 0.852 miles |
| Queen Elizabeth School | 0.73 | 187 | not published |
| The Stockwood Park Academy | 0.66 | 279 | not published |
| Lea Manor High School | 0.66 | 154 | not published |
| Stopsley High School | 0.52 | 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.