School admissions in Waltham Forest
How heavily each school was applied to for September 2026 entry, from the applications and offers every admissions authority reports to the DfE. 49 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
50 schools. 18 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
17 schools. 7 received more first preferences than they had places.
| School | First preferences per place | Places | Cutoff distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Eden Girls' School, Waltham Forest | 1.40 | 122 | not published |
| Walthamstow School for Girls | 1.34 | 173 | 0.758 miles |
| Walthamstow Academy | 1.29 | 171 | 0.704 miles |
| Heathcote School & Science College | 1.15 | 171 | 1.379 miles |
| Kelmscott School | 1.05 | 222 | 0.828 miles |
| Frederick Bremer School | 1.04 | 161 | 0.718 miles |
| Highams Park School | 1.01 | 229 | 0.92 miles |
| Leytonstone School | 0.95 | 196 | 0.92 miles |
| George Mitchell School | 0.89 | 70 | 0.833 miles |
| Norlington School and 6th Form | 0.82 | 153 | 1.128 miles |
| Holy Family Catholic School | 0.73 | 110 | not published |
| Chingford Foundation School | 0.71 | 212 | 2.61 miles |
| Buxton School | 0.64 | 80 | not published |
| Willowfield School | 0.62 | 200 | 1.19 miles |
| Connaught School for Girls | 0.62 | 71 | 1.189 miles |
| Lammas School | 0.49 | 41 | not published |
| South Chingford Foundation School | 0.44 | 64 | 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.