School admissions in Paignton
How heavily each school was applied to for September 2026 entry, from the applications and offers every admissions authority reports to the DfE. 1 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.
Paignton in figures
For Reception places in September 2026, families named the 10 schools in Paignton first 352 times for 371 places: 0.95 first choices per place. One of the 10 had more first choices than places. For 2026 entry, one school here gave its last places on distance: Marldon Church of England Primary School, to 1.48 miles.
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
10 schools. 1 received more first preferences than they had places.
| School | First preferences per place | Places | Cutoff distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Marldon Church of England Primary School | 1.07 | 30 | 2376.9 m (≈1.48 mi) |
| Curledge Street Academy | 1.00 | 37 | not published |
| Hayes School | 1.00 | 42 | not published |
| Kings Ash Academy | 1.00 | 23 | not published |
| White Rock Primary School | 0.96 | 73 | not published |
| Collaton St Mary Church of England Primary School | 0.95 | 20 | not published |
| Roselands Primary School | 0.93 | 44 | not published |
| Oldway Primary School | 0.89 | 55 | not published |
| Sacred Heart Catholic School | 0.86 | 22 | not published |
| St Michael's Church of England Academy | 0.80 | 25 | 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.