Most sought-after schools in Brighton and Hove

Ordered by how many families put the school first, for each place it gave out.

This list is sorted by one number: first preferences per place. For each school it is the number of families who named it first, divided by the number of offers it made, in the newest year we hold. A higher number means more families wanted a place than there were places.

This is not a list of the best schools. It does not measure how good a school is, how happy the children are, or how well they do. It also does not tell you whether a child would get a place: that depends on where you live, the year, and the council's rules. It only shows how many people applied.

#	School	First preferences per place	Newest intake	Latest Ofsted
1	Cardinal Newman Catholic School Hove, secondary	1.40	2026	Not judged (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
2	Peter Gladwin Primary School Brighton, primary	1.33	2026	Standards maintained (Ofsted ungraded inspection)
3	Balfour Primary School Brighton, primary	1.32	2026	Good (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
4	Varndean School Brighton, secondary	1.25	2026	Good (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
5	King's School Hove, secondary	1.24	2026	Strong standard (Ofsted report card (current framework))
6	Cottesmore St Mary's Catholic Primary School Hove, primary	1.23	2026	Good (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
7	Carlton Hill Primary School BRIGHTON, primary	1.20	2026	School remains Good (Ofsted ungraded inspection)
8	St Bernadette's Catholic Primary School Brighton, primary	1.20	2026	Expected standard (Ofsted report card (current framework))
9	Saltdean Primary School Brighton, primary	1.17	2026	Good (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
10	St Andrew's CofE (Aided) Primary School Hove, primary	1.11	2026	Standards maintained (Ofsted ungraded inspection)
11	West Hove Infant School Hove, primary	1.07	2026	Not judged (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
12	Elm Grove Primary School Brighton, primary	1.05	2026	School remains Good (Ofsted ungraded inspection)
13	St Luke's Primary School Brighton, primary	1.04	2026	Not judged (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
14	Moulsecoomb Primary School Brighton, primary	1.00	2026	Not judged (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
15	St Martin's CofE Primary School Brighton, primary	1.00	2026	Good (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
16	St Paul's CofE Primary School Brighton, primary	1.00	2026	Expected standard (Ofsted report card (current framework))
17	West Blatchington Primary and Nursery School Hove, primary	1.00	2026	none held
18	Carden Nursery and Primary School Brighton, primary	0.97	2026	Expected standard (Ofsted report card (current framework))
19	Hangleton Primary School Hove, primary	0.97	2026	Good (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
20	Mile Oak Primary School Brighton, primary	0.97	2026	Good (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
21	Goldstone Primary School Hove, primary	0.96	2026	School remains Good (Ofsted ungraded inspection)
22	City Academy Whitehawk Brighton, primary	0.95	2026	Good (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
23	Bevendean Primary School and Nursery Brighton, primary	0.94	2026	Not judged (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
24	Coldean Primary School Brighton, primary	0.94	2026	Good (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
25	Bilingual Primary School - Brighton & Hove Brighton and Hove, primary	0.93	2026	Needs attention (Ofsted report card (current framework))
26	Brunswick Primary School Hove, primary	0.93	2026	Requires improvement (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
27	Fairlight Primary School Brighton, primary	0.93	2026	School remains Good (Improving) - S5 Next (Ofsted ungraded inspection)
28	Our Lady of Lourdes RC School Brighton, primary	0.93	2026	School remains Good (Ofsted ungraded inspection)
29	Rudyard Kipling Primary School & Nursery Brighton, primary	0.93	2026	School remains Good (Ofsted ungraded inspection)
30	Westdene Primary School Brighton, primary	0.92	2026	Not judged (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
31	Dorothy Stringer School Brighton, secondary	0.91	2026	Good (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
32	Patcham Infant School Brighton, primary	0.91	2026	Good (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
33	St Nicolas CofE Primary School Brighton, primary	0.91	2026	Good (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
34	Aldrington CofE Primary School Hove, primary	0.90	2026	Expected standard (Ofsted report card (current framework))
35	Benfield Primary School Brighton, primary	0.90	2026	School remains Good (Ofsted ungraded inspection)
36	St Margaret's CofE Primary School, Rottingdean Brighton, primary	0.90	2026	Standards maintained (Ofsted ungraded inspection)
37	Brackenbury Primary School Brighton, primary	0.89	2026	Good (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
38	Downs Infant School Brighton, primary	0.89	2026	Not judged (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
39	St Mary's Catholic Primary School Brighton, primary	0.89	2026	School remains Good (Improving) - S5 Next (Ofsted ungraded inspection)
40	Portslade Aldridge Community Academy Brighton, secondary	0.87	2026	Expected standard (Ofsted report card (current framework))
41	Brighton Aldridge Community Academy Brighton, secondary	0.84	2026	Not judged (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
42	Stanford Infant School Brighton, primary	0.84	2026	Good (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
43	Hertford Primary School Brighton, primary	0.83	2026	Not judged (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
44	St John the Baptist Catholic Primary School Brighton, primary	0.82	2026	Not judged (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
45	St Mark's CofE Primary School Brighton, primary	0.81	2026	Not judged (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
46	Blatchington Mill School Hove, secondary	0.78	2026	School remains Good (Ofsted ungraded inspection)
47	Longhill High School Brighton, secondary	0.75	2026	Requires improvement (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
48	Patcham High School Brighton, secondary	0.73	2026	School remains Good (Ofsted ungraded inspection)
49	Queen's Park Primary School Brighton, primary	0.72	2026	Requires improvement (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
50	Hove Park School and Sixth Form Centre Hove, secondary	0.68	2026	Expected standard (Ofsted report card (current framework))

Figures from the Department for Education, applications and offers. 50 schools in Brighton and Hove have a published per-place figure. Schools with too few places for the figure to mean anything are left off. All schools in Brighton and Hove · How we compare schools.