School admissions in Spalding

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

34 schools. 8 received more first preferences than they had places.

School	First preferences per place	Places
Weston Hills CofE Primary SchoolSpalding	1.40	20
The Holbeach William Stukeley Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary SchoolSpalding	1.38	45
Lutton St Nicholas Primary AcademySpalding	1.33	15
Wygate Park AcademySpalding	1.31	29
Deeping St Nicholas Primary SchoolSpalding	1.17	12
The Cowbit St Mary's Church of England AcademySpalding	1.08	12
St Bartholomews CofE Primary SchoolSpalding	1.07	14
The Spalding St John the Baptist Church of England Primary SchoolSpalding	1.03	59
Clough and Risegate Community Primary SchoolSpalding	1.00	16
Gedney Drove End Primary SchoolSpalding	1.00	4
Quadring Cowley & Brown's Primary SchoolSpalding	1.00	13
Shepeau Stow Primary SchoolSpalding	1.00	8
St Paul's Community Primary and Nursery School, SpaldingSpalding	1.00	28
Surfleet Primary SchoolSpalding	1.00	3
The Donington Cowley Endowed Primary SchoolSpalding	1.00	38
The Gedney Hill Church of England VC Primary SchoolSpalding	1.00	5
The Holbeach St Mark's Church of England Primary SchoolSpalding	1.00	6
Whaplode Church of England Primary SchoolSpalding	1.00	30
Sutton Bridge Westmere Community Primary SchoolSpalding	0.97	30
The Pinchbeck East Church of England Primary AcademySpalding	0.96	57
Gosberton AcademySpalding	0.95	19
Fleet Wood Lane SchoolSpalding	0.94	17
Sutton St James Community Primary SchoolSpalding	0.94	16
Spalding Parish Church of England Day SchoolSpalding	0.93	44
Monkshouse Primary AcademySpalding	0.92	49
Long Sutton County Primary SchoolSpalding	0.91	45
Spalding Primary AcademySpalding	0.90	31
St Norbert's Catholic Voluntary AcademySpalding	0.90	10
Weston St Mary Church of England Primary SchoolSpalding	0.88	8
Gedney Church End Primary AcademySpalding	0.86	7
The John Harrox Primary School, MoultonSpalding	0.83	36
Holbeach Primary AcademySpalding	0.76	45
Moulton Chapel Primary SchoolSpalding	0.75	4
Holbeach Bank Primary AcademySpalding	0.64	11

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

6 schools. 3 received more first preferences than they had places.

School	First preferences per place	Places
Spalding High SchoolSpalding	1.36	149
Cowley AcademySpalding	1.10	116
Spalding Grammar SchoolSpalding	1.05	146
Spalding AcademySpalding	0.95	311
University Academy Long SuttonSpalding	0.92	131
University Academy HolbeachSpalding	0.84	232