School admissions in Ripon
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.
Ripon in figures
For Reception places in September 2026, families named the 12 schools in Ripon first 143 times for 147 places: 0.97 first choices per place, against 1.00 across the North Yorkshire authority's 280 schools. 2 of the 12 had more first choices than places. For 2026 entry, one school here gave its last places on distance: Kirkby Malzeard Church of England Primary School, to 5.58 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
12 schools. 2 received more first preferences than they had places.
| School | First preferences per place | Places | Cutoff distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kirkby Malzeard Church of England Primary School | 1.07 | 15 | 5.584 miles |
| Holy Trinity Church of England Primary School | 1.05 | 19 | not published |
| Grewelthorpe Church of England Primary School | 1.00 | 6 | not published |
| Masham CofE Primary School | 1.00 | 4 | not published |
| North Stainley Church of England Primary School | 1.00 | 2 | not published |
| Outwood Primary Academy Greystone | 1.00 | 13 | not published |
| Ripon Cathedral Church of England Primary School | 1.00 | 26 | not published |
| Thornton Watlass Church of England Primary School | 1.00 | 1 | not published |
| Moorside Primary School & Nursery | 0.96 | 28 | not published |
| St Wilfrid's Catholic Primary School, a Voluntary Academy | 0.94 | 17 | not published |
| St Nicholas Church of England Primary School, West Tanfield | 0.78 | 9 | not published |
| Fountains Church of England Primary School | 0.71 | 7 | 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.