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%:
5. All Saints' Catholic Voluntary Academy
This year, 261 parents put this secondary academy in Mansfield down as their top pick. But just 183 first choice offers were handed out – a success rate of over 70%. | Google
6. Alderman White School
This year, 203 parents put this secondary academy in the village of Bramcote down as their top pick. But just 144 first choice offers were handed out – a success rate of almost 71%. | Google
7. Redhill Academy
This year, 373 parents put this secondary academy in Arnold down as their top pick. But just 266 first choice offers were handed out – a success rate of over 71%. | Google
8. Bluecoat Wollaton Academy
This year, 246 parents put this secondary academy in Nottingham’s Wollaton area down as their top pick. But just 177 first choice offers were handed out – a success rate of almost 72%. | Google