School admissions in West Berkshire
How heavily each school was applied to for September 2026 entry, from the applications and offers every admissions authority reports to the DfE. 27 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
56 schools. 14 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
10 schools. 4 received more first preferences than they had places.
| School | First preferences per place | Places | Cutoff distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Downs School | 1.22 | 204 | 4.63 miles |
| Denefield School | 1.07 | 203 | 1.899 miles |
| The Willink School | 1.06 | 201 | 2.756 miles |
| St Bartholomew's School | 1.04 | 265 | 0.93 miles |
| Trinity School | 0.97 | 209 | 1.009 miles |
| Kennet School | 0.96 | 287 | 4.087 miles |
| Park House School | 0.96 | 161 | 11.79 miles |
| John O'Gaunt School | 0.92 | 65 | 4.6 miles |
| Little Heath School | 0.84 | 260 | 1.427 miles |
| Theale Green School | 0.81 | 124 | 5.3 miles |
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.