School admissions in Wirral
How heavily each school was applied to for September 2026 entry, from the applications and offers every admissions authority reports to the DfE. 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
84 schools. 17 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
20 schools. 8 received more first preferences than they had places.
| School | First preferences per place | Places |
|---|---|---|
| Birkenhead High School Academy | 1.41 | 116 |
| Co-op Academy Bebington | 1.19 | 177 |
| Wirral Grammar School for Boys | 1.14 | 167 |
| Wirral Grammar School for Girls | 1.12 | 178 |
| Calday Grange Grammar School | 1.10 | 202 |
| Upton Hall School FCJ | 1.06 | 156 |
| Weatherhead High School | 1.05 | 259 |
| Hilbre High School | 1.02 | 178 |
| St Anselm's College | 0.99 | 157 |
| Woodchurch High School | 0.98 | 253 |
| The Mosslands School | 0.96 | 138 |
| Pensby High School | 0.95 | 173 |
| St Mary's Catholic College, A Voluntary Academy | 0.95 | 168 |
| West Kirby Grammar School | 0.95 | 172 |
| St John Plessington Catholic College | 0.94 | 207 |
| Prenton High School for Girls | 0.93 | 147 |
| South Wirral High School | 0.92 | 178 |
| Birkenhead Park School | 0.87 | 152 |
| Ridgeway High School | 0.81 | 129 |
| The Oldershaw School | 0.80 | 102 |
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.