School admissions in Swindon
How heavily each school was applied to for September 2026 entry, from the applications and offers every admissions authority reports to the DfE. 47 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.
Swindon in figures
For Reception places in September 2026, families named the 68 schools in Swindon first 2,485 times for 2,480 places: 1.00 first choices per place. 13 of the 68 had more first choices than places. For 2026 entry, 16 schools here gave their last places on distance, from 0.28 miles (Lift Hazelwood) to 3.24 miles (Wroughton Infant School).
For Year 7 places in September 2026, families named the 15 schools in Swindon first 3,019 times for 3,088 places: 0.98 first choices per place. 6 of the 15 had more first choices than places. For 2026 entry, 5 schools here gave their last places on distance, from 1.03 miles (Kingsdown School) to 4.75 miles (Lydiard Park Academy).
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
68 schools. 13 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
15 schools. 6 received more first preferences than they had places.
| School | First preferences per place | Places | Cutoff distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Abbey Park School | 1.26 | 240 | 0.936 miles |
| Swindon Academy | 1.12 | 200 | 1.273 miles |
| The Ridgeway School & Sixth Form College | 1.11 | 270 | not published |
| The Dorcan Academy | 1.10 | 170 | 0.895 miles |
| Kingsdown School | 1.02 | 232 | 1.032 miles |
| The Commonweal School | 1.01 | 232 | 4.152 miles |
| Lawn Manor Academy | 0.99 | 200 | not published |
| Royal Wootton Bassett Academy | 0.97 | 230 | not published |
| Lydiard Park Academy | 0.95 | 232 | 4.747 miles |
| Bradon Forest School | 0.94 | 174 | not published |
| Highworth Warneford School | 0.93 | 140 | 5.186 miles |
| St Joseph's Catholic College | 0.93 | 256 | not published |
| Great Western Academy | 0.90 | 180 | 1.783 miles |
| Nova Hreod Academy | 0.67 | 228 | not published |
| The Deanery CofE Academy | 0.44 | 104 | 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.