Most sought-after schools in Portsmouth

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	St Edmund's Catholic School Portsmouth, secondary	1.75	2026	School remains Outstanding (Ofsted ungraded inspection)
2	St John's Cathedral Catholic Primary School Portsmouth, primary	1.57	2026	Good (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
3	Westover Primary School Portsmouth, primary	1.23	2026	Good (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
4	St Swithun's Catholic Primary School Southsea, primary	1.22	2026	Standards maintained (Ofsted ungraded inspection)
5	Priory School Southsea, secondary	1.21	2026	Good (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
6	Admiral Lord Nelson School Portsmouth, secondary	1.16	2026	Expected standard (Ofsted report card (current framework))
7	Cumberland Infant School Southsea, primary	1.15	2026	Good (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
8	Highbury Primary School Portsmouth, primary	1.13	2026	Expected standard (Ofsted report card (current framework))
9	Solent Infant School Portsmouth, primary	1.13	2026	Improved significantly (Ofsted ungraded inspection)
10	The Victory Primary School Portsmouth, primary	1.07	2026	Not judged (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
11	Mayfield School Portsmouth, all through	1.04	2026	Inadequate (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
12	Gatcombe Park Primary School Portsmouth, primary	1.03	2026	Good (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
13	Moorings Way Infant School Southsea, primary	1.03	2026	Expected standard (Ofsted report card (current framework))
14	New Horizons Primary School Portsmouth, primary	1.03	2026	Good (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
15	Wimborne Primary School Portsmouth, primary	1.03	2026	Good (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
16	St Paul's Catholic Primary School Portsmouth, primary	1.00	2026	School remains Good (Ofsted ungraded inspection)
17	Copnor Primary School Portsmouth, primary	0.99	2026	Not judged (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
18	Corpus Christi Catholic Primary School Portsmouth, primary	0.98	2026	Good (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
19	St Jude's CofE Primary School Portsmouth, primary	0.97	2026	School remains Good (Concerns) - S5 Next (Ofsted ungraded inspection)
20	Stamshaw Infant Academy Portsmouth, primary	0.97	2026	School remains Good (Ofsted ungraded inspection)
21	Beacon View Primary Academy Portsmouth, primary	0.95	2026	Not judged (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
22	King's Academy Northern Parade (Infant) Portsmouth, primary	0.95	2026	Not judged (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
23	Devonshire Infant School Southsea, primary	0.94	2026	Expected standard (Ofsted report card (current framework))
24	The Flying Bull Academy Portsmouth, primary	0.94	2026	Needs attention (Ofsted report card (current framework))
25	Arundel Court Primary Academy and Nursery Portsmouth, primary	0.93	2026	Needs attention (Ofsted report card (current framework))
26	Manor Infant and Nursery School Portsmouth, primary	0.93	2026	Good (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
27	Portsdown Primary School Portsmouth, primary	0.93	2026	Good (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
28	St George's Beneficial Church of England (Voluntary Controlled) Primary School Portsmouth, primary	0.93	2026	Not judged (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
29	Ark Dickens Primary Academy Portsmouth, primary	0.92	2026	Standards maintained (Ofsted ungraded inspection)
30	Castle View Academy Portsmouth, secondary	0.92	2026	Expected standard (Ofsted report card (current framework))
31	King's Academy College Park (Infant) Portsmouth, primary	0.92	2026	Good (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
32	Springfield School Portsmouth, secondary	0.92	2026	Not judged (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
33	Ark Ayrton Primary Academy Portsmouth, primary	0.91	2026	School remains Good (Improving) - S5 Next (Ofsted ungraded inspection)
34	Cottage Grove Primary School and Nursery Southsea, primary	0.91	2026	Requires improvement (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
35	Milton Park Primary School Portsmouth, primary	0.91	2026	Good (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
36	Meon Infant School Southsea, primary	0.90	2026	Not judged (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
37	Court Lane Infant Academy Portsmouth, primary	0.89	2026	School remains Good (Ofsted ungraded inspection)
38	Bramble Infant School and Nursery Southsea, primary	0.87	2026	Standards maintained (Ofsted ungraded inspection)
39	Penbridge Infant School & Nursery Portsmouth, primary	0.87	2026	School remains Good (Ofsted ungraded inspection)
40	Trafalgar School Portsmouth, secondary	0.86	2026	Good (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
41	Medina Primary School Portsmouth, primary	0.84	2026	Not judged (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
42	Southsea Infant School Southsea, primary	0.76	2026	Expected standard (Ofsted report card (current framework))
43	Ark Charter Academy Southsea, secondary	0.74	2026	Not judged (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
44	Miltoncross Academy Portsmouth, secondary	0.62	2026	Not judged (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
45	The Portsmouth Academy Portsmouth, secondary	0.55	2026	School remains Good (Ofsted ungraded inspection)

Figures from the Department for Education, applications and offers. 45 schools in Portsmouth have a published per-place figure. Schools with too few places for the figure to mean anything are left off. All schools in Portsmouth · How we compare schools.