School admissions in Prenton
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.
Prenton in figures
For Reception places in September 2026, families named the 8 schools in Prenton first 253 times for 250 places: 1.01 first choices per place, against 0.98 across the Wirral authority's 84 schools. 2 of the 8 had more first choices than places. For 2026 entry, one school here gave its last places on distance: Oxton St Saviour's CofE Primary School, to 1.10 miles.
For Year 7 places in September 2026, families named the 3 schools in Prenton first 422 times for 402 places: 1.05 first choices per place, against 1.01 across the Wirral authority's 20 schools. One of the 3 had more first choices than places.
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
8 schools. 2 received more first preferences than they had places.
| School | First preferences per place | Places | Cutoff distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Birkenhead High School Academy | 1.20 | 56 | not published |
| Oxton St Saviour's CofE Primary School | 1.10 | 30 | 1.1 miles |
| St Paul's Catholic Primary School | 1.00 | 10 | not published |
| St Peter's Catholic Primary School | 1.00 | 20 | not published |
| Bidston Village CofE (Controlled) Primary School | 0.95 | 38 | not published |
| St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Birkenhead | 0.92 | 25 | not published |
| Co-op Academy Hillside | 0.91 | 11 | not published |
| Prenton Primary School | 0.90 | 60 | 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.
Year 7 places, September 2026
3 schools. 1 received more first preferences than they had places.
| School | First preferences per place | Places |
|---|---|---|
| Birkenhead High School Academy | 1.41 | 116 |
| St Anselm's College | 0.99 | 157 |
| Ridgeway High School | 0.81 | 129 |
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.