School admissions in Westminster
How heavily each school was applied to for September 2026 entry, from the applications and offers every admissions authority reports to the DfE. 34 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
32 schools. 6 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. 3 received more first preferences than they had places.
| School | First preferences per place | Places | Cutoff distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| The St Marylebone CofE School | 2.35 | 160 | not published |
| The Grey Coat Hospital | 1.97 | 169 | not published |
| Paddington Academy | 1.70 | 174 | 0.519 miles |
| St George's Catholic School | 0.95 | 175 | not published |
| Pimlico Academy | 0.66 | 205 | 2.09 miles |
| Harris Academy St John's Wood | 0.66 | 225 | 4.122 miles |
| Westminster City School | 0.53 | 106 | not published |
| St Augustine's Federated Schools: CE High School | 0.52 | 121 | not published |
| Marylebone Academy | 0.49 | 65 | not published |
| Westminster Academy | 0.48 | 143 | 3.026 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.