School admissions in Sefton
How heavily each school was applied to for September 2026 entry, from the applications and offers every admissions authority reports to the DfE. 43 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
72 schools. 22 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
18 schools. 7 received more first preferences than they had places.
| School | First preferences per place | Places | Cutoff distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Holy Family Catholic High School | 1.70 | 147 | not published |
| Hillside High School | 1.49 | 162 | 0.645 miles |
| Meols Cop High School | 1.18 | 175 | 1.517 miles |
| Maghull High School | 1.13 | 219 | 3.068 miles |
| Formby High School | 1.10 | 168 | not published |
| Chesterfield High School | 1.07 | 305 | 1.858 miles |
| Greenbank High School | 1.03 | 204 | 5.105 miles |
| Birkdale High School | 0.99 | 190 | 6.138 miles |
| Litherland High School | 0.98 | 171 | 1.318 miles |
| Stanley High School | 0.88 | 137 | 2.061 miles |
| Range High School | 0.88 | 144 | 6.972 miles |
| Christ The King Catholic High School and Sixth Form Centre | 0.86 | 112 | not published |
| Deyes High School | 0.80 | 197 | 4.703 miles |
| King's Leadership Academy Hawthornes | 0.78 | 167 | 1.665 miles |
| The Salesian Academy of St John Bosco | 0.74 | 114 | not published |
| Maricourt Catholic High School | 0.66 | 182 | not published |
| Sacred Heart Catholic Academy | 0.62 | 147 | not published |
| St Michaels Church of England Academy | 0.31 | 81 | 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.