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. 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
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.