School admissions in Torquay
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
17 schools. 4 received more first preferences than they had places.
| School | First preferences per place | Places |
|---|---|---|
| Preston Primary School | 1.60 | 45 |
| Ilsham Church of England Academy | 1.32 | 25 |
| Shiphay Learning Academy | 1.13 | 30 |
| St Margaret's Academy | 1.03 | 34 |
| Lift Barton Hill | 1.00 | 56 |
| Our Lady of the Angels Catholic Primary School | 1.00 | 11 |
| Priory Roman Catholic Primary School, Torquay | 1.00 | 11 |
| St Marychurch Church of England Primary and Nursery School | 1.00 | 16 |
| Upton St James CofE Primary School | 1.00 | 7 |
| All Saints Babbacombe CofE Primary School | 0.96 | 28 |
| Homelands Primary School | 0.96 | 28 |
| Ellacombe Church of England Academy | 0.96 | 27 |
| Sherwell Valley Primary School | 0.96 | 77 |
| Torre Church of England Academy | 0.95 | 39 |
| Watcombe Primary School | 0.93 | 27 |
| Warberry CofE Academy | 0.91 | 22 |
| Cockington Primary School | 0.88 | 43 |
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. 4 received more first preferences than they had places.
| School | First preferences per place | Places |
|---|---|---|
| Torquay Academy | 1.37 | 250 |
| Torquay Boys' Grammar School | 1.30 | 166 |
| Torquay Girls' Grammar School | 1.29 | 191 |
| The Spires College | 1.03 | 194 |
| St Cuthbert Mayne School | 0.40 | 189 |
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.