School admissions in Thatcham
How heavily each school was applied to for September 2026 entry, from the applications and offers every admissions authority reports to the DfE. 5 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.
Thatcham in figures
For Reception places in September 2026, families named the 12 schools in Thatcham first 359 times for 367 places: 0.98 first choices per place. 3 of the 12 had more first choices than places. For 2026 entry, 2 schools here gave their last places on distance, from 1.35 miles (Cold Ash St Mark's CE Primary School) to 1.66 miles (St Finian's Catholic Primary 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
12 schools. 3 received more first preferences than they had places.
| School | First preferences per place | Places | Cutoff distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parsons Down Infant School | 1.31 | 29 | not published |
| Cold Ash St Mark's CE Primary School | 1.21 | 29 | 1.351 miles |
| St Finian's Catholic Primary School | 1.03 | 29 | 1.656 miles |
| Hampstead Norreys C.E. Primary School | 1.00 | 3 | not published |
| Spurcroft Primary School | 0.96 | 55 | not published |
| Francis Baily Primary School | 0.95 | 40 | not published |
| Ashford Hill Primary School | 0.95 | 19 | 1.58 miles |
| Hermitage Primary School | 0.93 | 30 | not published |
| Curridge Primary School | 0.93 | 14 | not published |
| Whitelands Park Primary School | 0.87 | 55 | not published |
| Thatcham Park CofE Primary | 0.86 | 50 | not published |
| Yattendon C.E. Primary School | 0.86 | 14 | 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.