School admissions in Peterborough
How heavily each school was applied to for September 2026 entry, from the applications and offers every admissions authority reports to the DfE. 39 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
59 schools. 11 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
15 schools. 7 received more first preferences than they had places.
| School | First preferences per place | Places | Cutoff distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| The King's (The Cathedral) School | 2.88 | 127 | not published |
| Greater Peterborough UTC | 1.30 | 60 | 1.904 miles |
| Manor Drive Secondary Academy | 1.24 | 146 | 0.967 miles |
| St John Fisher Catholic High School | 1.10 | 136 | 0.677 miles |
| Arthur Mellows Village College | 1.10 | 262 | 2.397 miles |
| Hampton Gardens Secondary School | 1.09 | 229 | 1.069 miles |
| Ormiston Bushfield Academy | 1.01 | 218 | 2.399 miles |
| Nene Park Academy | 0.89 | 237 | 2.775 miles |
| Jack Hunt Academy | 0.89 | 324 | 1.717 miles |
| Stanground Academy | 0.86 | 291 | not published |
| Hampton College | 0.85 | 148 | 3.852 miles |
| Ken Stimpson Academy | 0.84 | 154 | not published |
| Queen Katharine Academy | 0.73 | 146 | not published |
| Thomas Deacon Academy | 0.65 | 227 | 2.893 miles |
| City of Peterborough Academy | 0.58 | 158 | 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.