School admissions in Reading

How heavily each school was applied to for September 2026 entry, from the applications and offers every admissions authority reports to the DfE. 32 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. 7 received more first preferences than they had places.

School	First preferences per place	Places	Cutoff distance
All Saints Church of England Aided Infant SchoolReading	1.85	20	not published
Battle Primary AcademyReading	1.33	60	not published
The Hill Primary SchoolReading	1.28	60	0.707 miles 2026
Moorlands Primary SchoolReading	1.27	30	0.449 miles 2026
Oxford Road Community SchoolReading	1.27	30	0.184 miles 2023
The Heights Primary SchoolReading	1.26	50	not published
Caversham Primary SchoolReading	1.05	60	0.658 miles 2026
St Martin's Catholic Primary SchoolReading	1.00	14	not published
The Palmer Primary AcademyReading	1.00	58	not published
Geoffrey Field Infant SchoolReading	0.98	90	2.545 miles 2025
Katesgrove Primary SchoolReading	0.98	90	1.011 miles 2026
Whitley Park Primary and Nursery SchoolReading	0.98	45	not published
New Town Primary SchoolReading	0.97	36	not published
Coley Primary SchoolReading	0.97	30	0.425 miles 2026
Ranikhet AcademyReading	0.97	30	not published
Christ The King Catholic Primary SchoolReading	0.96	28	not published
Southcote Primary SchoolReading	0.96	55	0.797 miles 2020
St Anne's Catholic Primary SchoolReading	0.96	23	not published
Alfred Sutton Primary SchoolReading	0.95	85	0.769 miles 2024
Green Park Village Primary AcademyReading	0.95	60	not published
St John's Church of England Primary SchoolReading	0.95	58	not published
New Christ Church Church of England Primary SchoolReading	0.94	16	not published
Emmer Green Primary SchoolReading	0.93	60	1.661 miles 2026
The Ridgeway Primary SchoolReading	0.93	30	not published
E P Collier Primary SchoolReading	0.92	26	not published
Manor Primary SchoolReading	0.92	39	not published
Wilson Primary SchoolReading	0.92	60	0.266 miles 2026
St Mary & All Saints Church of England Primary SchoolReading	0.90	41	not published
English Martyrs' Catholic Primary SchoolReading	0.89	56	not published
Thameside Primary SchoolReading	0.89	56	1.173 miles 2021
Churchend Primary AcademyReading	0.88	60	not published
St Michael's Primary SchoolReading	0.87	46	0.744 miles 2020
Meadow Park AcademyReading	0.86	37	not published
Redlands Primary SchoolReading	0.86	21	0.834 miles 2023
Micklands Primary SchoolReading	0.83	30	1.449 miles 2026
Caversham Park Primary SchoolReading	0.80	5	not published
Park Lane Primary SchoolReading	0.78	60	0.464 miles 2020
Civitas AcademyReading	0.68	60	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

10 schools. 3 received more first preferences than they had places.

School	First preferences per place	Places	Cutoff distance
Kendrick SchoolReading	2.76	127	not published
Reading SchoolReading	2.74	146	not published
River AcademyReading	1.30	162	0.996 miles 2026
Highdown School and Sixth Form CentreReading	0.79	243	not published
Maiden Erlegh School in ReadingReading	0.78	169	1.433 miles 2026
Blessed Hugh Faringdon Catholic SchoolReading	0.76	174	1 miles 2025
King's Academy ProspectReading	0.72	145	not published
Reading Girls' SchoolReading	0.66	154	2.546 miles 2024
The WREN SchoolReading	0.60	117	not published
Hartland High SchoolReading	0.53	86	not published