Across Nottinghamshire, some parents hoping their soon-to-be primary school leaver will get a place at their top secondary pick may be out of luck.
Many of the county’s high performing and popular local schools are oversubscribed. With just 83.5% of children nationwide getting an offer from their first choice of secondary for the current 2025/26 school year - unfortunately this means some families will likely miss out.
Applications for a state-funded secondary school place for next year are open now, with the deadline falling in just a few weeks’ time - on October 31. Forms need to be submitted by then in order for children to have the best possible chance at getting into their desired school, although the outcomes won’t be revealed until next March.
To help out any parents curious about their child’s odds of receiving an offer from the school they want, we’ve taken a look at the Department of Education’s latest data on schools across the Nottingham City and Nottinghamshire Council council areas, comparing how many parents put each one down as their top pick, with how many first-choice offers they actually sent out.
Here were all the county’s hardest secondaries to get an offer from - all with first-choice offer rates of below 80%:
1. Bluecoat Trent Academy
For the 2025/26 academic year, 396 parents put this secondary academy in Nottingham’s Mapperley Park area down as their first choice of secondary school. But just 212 first choice offers were handed out – a success rate of just under 54%. | Google
2. Nottingham University Academy of Science and Technology
This year, 146 parents put this specialist STEM secondary academy in Nottingham’s Lenton area down as their top pick. But just 92 first choice offers were handed out – a success rate of about 63%. | Google
3. Bluecoat Aspley Academy
Another Nottingham-based secondary academy, in the Aspley area, this year 236 parents put it down as their first choice of secondary school. But just 152 first choice offers were handed out – a success rate of just over 64%. | Google
4. Nottingham Free School
This year, 160 parents put this secondary academy in Nottingham’s Sherwood area down as their top pick. But just 105 first choice offers were handed out – a success rate of over 65%. | Google