School admissions in Southend-on-Sea
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
15 schools. 5 received more first preferences than they had places.
| School | First preferences per place | Places | Cutoff distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bournes Green Infant School | 1.53 | 60 | 0.5 miles |
| St George's Catholic Primary School | 1.21 | 29 | not published |
| Great Wakering Primary Academy | 1.18 | 60 | not published |
| Greenways Primary School | 1.10 | 89 | 0.769 miles |
| Hamstel Infant School and Nursery | 1.04 | 120 | 0.773 miles |
| Friars Primary School and Nursery | 0.95 | 60 | 0.84 miles |
| Hinguar Community Primary School | 0.93 | 30 | 0.276 miles |
| Bournemouth Park Academy | 0.90 | 59 | not published |
| Sacred Heart Catholic Primary School | 0.88 | 52 | not published |
| Temple Sutton Primary School | 0.84 | 81 | not published |
| St Mary's, Prittlewell, CofE Primary School | 0.79 | 58 | not published |
| Porters Grange Primary School and Nursery | 0.75 | 60 | not published |
| Thorpedene Primary School & Nursery | 0.72 | 25 | not published |
| Richmond Avenue Primary and Nursery School | 0.66 | 50 | not published |
| Barling Magna Primary Academy | 0.56 | 18 | 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
5 schools. 2 received more first preferences than they had places.
| School | First preferences per place | Places | Cutoff distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Southend High School for Boys | 1.74 | 177 | not published |
| Southend High School for Girls | 1.25 | 217 | not published |
| Cecil Jones Academy | 0.82 | 188 | not published |
| Shoeburyness High School | 0.78 | 310 | 3.505 miles |
| Southchurch High School | 0.75 | 112 | 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.