School admissions in Welwyn Garden City
How heavily each school was applied to for September 2026 entry, from the applications and offers every admissions authority reports to the DfE. 16 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.
Welwyn Garden City in figures
For Reception places in September 2026, families named the 16 schools in Welwyn Garden City first 483 times for 494 places: 0.98 first choices per place, against 1.00 across the Hertfordshire authority's 364 schools. 3 of the 16 had more first choices than places. For 2026 entry, 2 schools here gave their last places on distance, from 0.65 miles (Applecroft School) to 0.75 miles (Templewood Primary School).
For Year 7 places in September 2026, families named the 3 schools in Welwyn Garden City first 579 times for 623 places: 0.93 first choices per place, against 1.03 across the Hertfordshire authority's 78 schools. 2 of the 3 had more first choices than places.
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
16 schools. 3 received more first preferences than they had places.
| School | First preferences per place | Places | Cutoff distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Panshanger Primary School | 1.62 | 29 | 1119.13 m (≈0.70 mi) |
| Applecroft School | 1.15 | 60 | 1050.32 m (≈0.65 mi) |
| Templewood Primary School | 1.10 | 30 | 1213.8 m (≈0.75 mi) |
| The Holy Family Catholic Primary School | 0.96 | 23 | not published |
| Commonswood Primary & Nursery School | 0.95 | 59 | 1728.54 m (≈1.07 mi) |
| Creswick Academy | 0.95 | 37 | not published |
| St John's Voluntary Aided Church of England Primary School, Lemsford | 0.93 | 15 | not published |
| Peartree Primary School | 0.92 | 13 | not published |
| Waterside Academy | 0.90 | 21 | 1047.93 m (≈0.65 mi) |
| Swallow Dell Primary and Nursery School | 0.90 | 52 | 1567.36 m (≈0.97 mi) |
| Harwood Hill Junior Mixed Infant and Nursery School | 0.89 | 9 | 737.17 m (≈0.46 mi) |
| Holwell Primary School | 0.87 | 53 | 1191.8 m (≈0.74 mi) |
| Watchlytes Primary School | 0.84 | 19 | 908.37 m (≈0.56 mi) |
| Homerswood Primary and Nursery School | 0.83 | 23 | 2003.41 m (≈1.24 mi) |
| Our Lady Catholic Primary School | 0.82 | 22 | not published |
| Springmead Primary School | 0.76 | 29 | 810.26 m (≈0.50 mi) |
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
3 schools. 2 received more first preferences than they had places.
| School | First preferences per place | Places |
|---|---|---|
| Stanborough School | 1.08 | 234 |
| Monk's Walk School | 1.03 | 221 |
| Ridgeway Academy | 0.59 | 168 |
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.