School admissions in Dudley
How heavily each school was applied to for September 2026 entry, from the applications and offers every admissions authority reports to the DfE. 67 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.
Reception places, September 2026
77 schools. 24 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
19 schools. 7 received more first preferences than they had places.
| School | First preferences per place | Places | Cutoff distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bishop Milner Catholic College | 1.57 | 145 | 720 m (≈0.45 mi) |
| Summerhill School | 1.46 | 199 | 1897 m (≈1.18 mi) |
| Old Swinford Hospital | 1.38 | 167 | not published |
| The Earls High School | 1.23 | 237 | 2380 m (≈1.48 mi) |
| The Dormston School | 1.02 | 219 | 2426 m (≈1.51 mi) |
| Windsor High School and Sixth Form | 1.01 | 291 | 3152 m (≈1.96 mi) |
| The Crestwood School | 1.01 | 209 | 1953 m (≈1.21 mi) |
| Ridgewood High School | 0.94 | 118 | 4100 m (≈2.55 mi) |
| Redhill School | 0.93 | 245 | 2873 m (≈1.79 mi) |
| The Link Academy | 0.89 | 196 | 2826 m (≈1.76 mi) |
| Ellowes Hall Sports College | 0.89 | 185 | not published |
| The Wordsley School | 0.88 | 137 | not published |
| Thorns Collegiate Academy | 0.84 | 147 | not published |
| The Pedmore High School | 0.83 | 92 | not published |
| Beacon Hill Academy | 0.80 | 219 | not published |
| St James Academy | 0.79 | 176 | 3541 m (≈2.20 mi) |
| Pegasus Academy | 0.71 | 111 | not published |
| Leasowes High School | 0.67 | 190 | 2364 m (≈1.47 mi) |
| Kingswinford Academy | 0.63 | 179 | 7020 m (≈4.36 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.