School admissions in Luton

How heavily each school was applied to for September 2026 entry, from the applications and offers every admissions authority reports to the DfE. 19 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

38 schools. 8 received more first preferences than they had places.

School	First preferences per place	Places	Cutoff distance
Someries Infant School and Early Childhood Education CentreLuton	1.74	61	0.319 miles 2026
Leagrave Primary SchoolLuton	1.69	58	0.56 miles 2026
Bramingham Primary SchoolLuton	1.35	60	0.565 miles 2026
Tennyson Road Primary SchoolLuton	1.26	90	0.356 miles 2026
Denbigh Primary SchoolLuton	1.20	89	0.437 miles 2026
Dallow Primary SchoolLuton	1.11	89	0.327 miles 2026
Bushmead Primary & Nursery SchoolLuton	1.09	90	0.566 miles 2026
St Matthew's Primary SchoolLuton	1.02	119	0.628 miles 2026
Ramridge Primary SchoolLuton	1.00	59	0.851 miles 2026
St Margaret of Scotland Catholic Primary SchoolLuton	1.00	35	not published
St Martin De Porres Catholic Primary SchoolLuton	1.00	49	not published
Hillborough Infant and Nursery SchoolLuton	0.99	90	0.829 miles 2026
Maidenhall Primary SchoolLuton	0.99	67	not published
Southfield Primary AcademyLuton	0.98	48	not published
Chantry Primary AcademyLuton	0.97	66	not published
Beechwood Primary SchoolLuton	0.97	120	not published
Foxdell Primary SchoolLuton	0.96	67	not published
Beech Hill Community Primary SchoolLuton	0.95	109	not published
William Austin Infant SchoolLuton	0.95	100	not published
The Ferrars AcademyLuton	0.95	79	not published
Downside Primary SchoolLuton	0.95	133	not published
Whitefield Primary AcademyLuton	0.94	32	not published
Waulud Primary SchoolLuton	0.93	60	not published
River Bank Primary SchoolLuton	0.92	115	not published
Norton Road Primary SchoolLuton	0.92	38	not published
Pirton Hill Primary SchoolLuton	0.90	42	not published
Icknield Primary SchoolLuton	0.89	75	not published
Parklea Primary SchoolLuton	0.89	56	not published
Whipperley Infant AcademyLuton	0.89	88	not published
The Meads Primary SchoolLuton	0.87	68	not published
Warden Hill Infant AcademyLuton	0.85	96	not published
Stopsley Community Primary SchoolLuton	0.85	59	not published
Sacred Heart Catholic Primary SchoolLuton	0.85	26	not published
Wigmore PrimaryLuton	0.84	70	not published
Cutenhoe Hill Primary SchoolLuton	0.84	43	not published
Putteridge Primary SchoolLuton	0.82	72	not published
The Linden AcademyLuton	0.80	56	not published
Crawley Green Infant SchoolLuton	0.80	86	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.

Year 7 places, September 2026

13 schools. 5 received more first preferences than they had places.

School	First preferences per place	Places	Cutoff distance
Denbigh High SchoolLuton	2.05	208	not published
Chiltern AcademyLuton	1.19	228	1.062 miles 2026
Putteridge High SchoolLuton	1.17	234	1.329 miles 2026
Challney High School for GirlsLuton	1.06	219	0.768 miles 2026
The Chalk Hills AcademyLuton	1.06	290	1.33 miles 2026
Cardinal Newman Catholic School A Specialist Science CollegeLuton	0.96	261	not published
Lealands High SchoolLuton	0.95	204	2.14 miles 2026
Challney High School for BoysLuton	0.95	230	1.096 miles 2026
Icknield High SchoolLuton	0.82	292	0.852 miles 2026
Queen Elizabeth SchoolLuton	0.73	187	not published
The Stockwood Park AcademyLuton	0.66	279	not published
Lea Manor High SchoolLuton	0.66	154	not published
Stopsley High SchoolLuton	0.52	200	not published