School admissions in Southport
How heavily each school was applied to for September 2026 entry, from the applications and offers every admissions authority reports to the DfE. 13 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.
Southport in figures
For Reception places in September 2026, families named the 20 schools in Southport first 705 times for 720 places: 0.98 first choices per place. One of the 20 had more first choices than places. For 2026 entry, one school here gave its last places on distance: Shoreside Primary School, to 0.83 miles.
For Year 7 places in September 2026, families named the 5 schools in Southport first 821 times for 818 places: 1.00 first choices per place. 2 of the 5 had more first choices than places. For 2026 entry, 3 schools here gave their last places on distance, from 1.52 miles (Meols Cop High School) to 6.14 miles (Birkdale High School).
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
20 schools. 1 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
5 schools. 2 received more first preferences than they had places.
| School | First preferences per place | Places | Cutoff distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Meols Cop High School | 1.18 | 175 | 1.517 miles |
| Greenbank High School | 1.03 | 204 | 5.105 miles |
| Birkdale High School | 0.99 | 190 | 6.138 miles |
| Stanley High School | 0.88 | 137 | 2.061 miles |
| Christ The King Catholic High School and Sixth Form Centre | 0.86 | 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.