Most sought-after schools in Isle of Wight

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	The Island Free School Ventnor, secondary	1.84	2026	School remains Good (Ofsted ungraded inspection)
2	Dover Park Primary School Ryde, Isle of Wight, primary	1.55	2026	School remains Good (Ofsted ungraded inspection)
3	Brighstone Church of England Aided Primary School Newport, primary	1.45	2026	Good (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
4	Carisbrooke College Newport, secondary	1.30	2026	Requires improvement (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
5	Godshill Primary School Ventnor, primary	1.22	2026	Good (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
6	Nine Acres Primary School Newport, primary	1.12	2026	Outstanding (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
7	Gurnard Primary School Cowes, primary	1.10	2026	Not judged (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
8	Newchurch Primary School Sandown, primary	1.07	2026	Good (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
9	Christ The King College Newport, secondary	1.03	2026	Requires improvement (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
10	Lift Ryde Ryde, secondary	1.03	2026	Good (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
11	Binstead Primary School Ryde, primary	1.00	2026	School remains Good (Ofsted ungraded inspection)
12	Broadlea Primary School Sandown, primary	1.00	2026	Good (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
13	Greenmount Primary School Ryde, primary	1.00	2026	Needs attention (Ofsted report card (current framework))
14	Holy Cross Catholic Primary School East Cowes, primary	1.00	2026	Needs attention (Ofsted report card (current framework))
15	Hunnyhill Ormiston Academy Newport, primary	1.00	2026	Not judged (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
16	Lanesend Primary School Cowes, primary	1.00	2026	Not judged (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
17	Newport Church of England Aided Primary School Newport, primary	1.00	2026	Good (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
18	Queensgate Foundation Primary East Cowes, primary	1.00	2026	Not judged (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
19	St Helens Primary School Ryde, primary	1.00	2026	Good (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
20	Carisbrooke Church of England Controlled Primary School Newport, primary	0.97	2026	Good (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
21	Barton Primary School Newport, primary	0.96	2026	Not judged (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
22	Shalfleet Church of England Primary School Newport, primary	0.95	2026	School remains Good (Ofsted ungraded inspection)
23	St Thomas of Canterbury Catholic Primary School Newport, primary	0.95	2026	School remains Good (Ofsted ungraded inspection)
24	Gatten and Lake Primary School Shanklin, primary	0.94	2026	Good (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
25	St Francis Catholic and Church of England Primary Academy Ventnor, primary	0.94	2026	Good (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
26	Nettlestone Primary School Seaview, primary	0.93	2026	Good (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
27	St Blasius Shanklin CofE Primary Academy Shanklin, primary	0.93	2026	School remains Good (Ofsted ungraded inspection)
28	Wootton Community Primary School Ryde, primary	0.93	2026	Standards maintained (Ofsted ungraded inspection)
29	Wroxall Primary School Ventnor, primary	0.92	2026	Not judged (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
30	Bembridge Church of England Primary School Bembridge, primary	0.91	2026	Standards maintained (Ofsted ungraded inspection)
31	Niton Primary School Ventnor, primary	0.90	2026	School remains Good (Ofsted ungraded inspection)
32	Northwood Primary School Cowes, primary	0.90	2026	Good (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
33	Summerfields Primary School Newport, primary	0.89	2026	Good (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
34	Freshwater & Yarmouth Church of England Aided Primary School Freshwater, primary	0.88	2026	School remains Good (Ofsted ungraded inspection)
35	Cowes Enterprise College, An Ormiston Academy Cowes, secondary	0.87	2026	School remains Good (Ofsted ungraded inspection)
36	Haylands Primary School Ryde, primary	0.83	2026	School remains Good (Ofsted ungraded inspection)
37	Oakfield Church of England Aided Primary School, Ryde Ryde, primary	0.81	2026	Requires improvement (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
38	St Mary's Catholic Primary School Ryde, primary	0.76	2026	Not judged (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
39	The Bay Church of England School Sandown, all through	0.72	2026	Good (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
40	Medina College Newport, secondary	0.49	2026	Requires improvement (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))

Figures from the Department for Education, applications and offers. 40 schools in Isle of Wight have a published per-place figure. Schools with too few places for the figure to mean anything are left off. All schools in Isle of Wight · How we compare schools.