Most sought-after schools in Reading

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	Kendrick School Reading, secondary	2.76	2026	Outstanding (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
2	Reading School Reading, secondary	2.74	2026	Outstanding (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
3	All Saints Church of England Aided Infant School Reading, primary	1.85	2026	Strong standard (Ofsted report card (current framework))
4	Battle Primary Academy Reading, primary	1.33	2026	Not judged (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
5	The Hill Primary School Reading, primary	1.28	2026	School remains Good (Ofsted ungraded inspection)
6	Moorlands Primary School Reading, primary	1.27	2026	Standards maintained (Ofsted ungraded inspection)
7	Oxford Road Community School Reading, primary	1.27	2026	Standards maintained (Ofsted ungraded inspection)
8	The Heights Primary School Reading, primary	1.26	2026	Standards maintained (Ofsted ungraded inspection)
9	Caversham Primary School Reading, primary	1.05	2026	Good (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
10	St Martin's Catholic Primary School Reading, primary	1.00	2026	Expected standard (Ofsted report card (current framework))
11	The Palmer Primary Academy Reading, primary	1.00	2026	Good (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
12	Geoffrey Field Infant School Reading, primary	0.98	2026	Not judged (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
13	Katesgrove Primary School Reading, primary	0.98	2026	School remains Good (Ofsted ungraded inspection)
14	Whitley Park Primary and Nursery School Reading, primary	0.98	2026	Expected standard (Ofsted report card (current framework))
15	Coley Primary School Reading, primary	0.97	2026	School remains Good (Ofsted ungraded inspection)
16	New Town Primary School Reading, primary	0.97	2026	Not judged (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
17	Ranikhet Academy Reading, primary	0.97	2026	Expected standard (Ofsted report card (current framework))
18	Christ The King Catholic Primary School Reading, primary	0.96	2026	Needs attention (Ofsted report card (current framework))
19	Southcote Primary School Reading, primary	0.96	2026	Good (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
20	St Anne's Catholic Primary School Reading, primary	0.96	2026	Standards maintained (Ofsted ungraded inspection)
21	Alfred Sutton Primary School Reading, primary	0.95	2026	School remains Good (Ofsted ungraded inspection)
22	Green Park Village Primary Academy Reading, primary	0.95	2026	Good (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
23	St John's Church of England Primary School Reading, primary	0.95	2026	Good (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
24	New Christ Church Church of England Primary School Reading, primary	0.94	2026	Good (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
25	Emmer Green Primary School Reading, primary	0.93	2026	Not judged (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
26	The Ridgeway Primary School Reading, primary	0.93	2026	Not judged (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
27	E P Collier Primary School Reading, primary	0.92	2026	Good (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
28	Manor Primary School Reading, primary	0.92	2026	Good (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
29	Wilson Primary School Reading, primary	0.92	2026	Expected standard (Ofsted report card (current framework))
30	St Mary & All Saints Church of England Primary School Reading, primary	0.90	2026	Not judged (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
31	English Martyrs' Catholic Primary School Reading, primary	0.89	2026	School remains Good (Ofsted ungraded inspection)
32	Thameside Primary School Reading, primary	0.89	2026	Standards maintained (Ofsted ungraded inspection)
33	Churchend Primary Academy Reading, primary	0.88	2026	Good (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
34	St Michael's Primary School Reading, primary	0.87	2026	School remains Good (Ofsted ungraded inspection)
35	Meadow Park Academy Reading, primary	0.86	2026	Good (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
36	Redlands Primary School Reading, primary	0.86	2026	Not judged (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
37	Micklands Primary School Reading, primary	0.83	2026	Not judged (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
38	Highdown School and Sixth Form Centre Reading, secondary	0.79	2026	School remains Good (Ofsted ungraded inspection)
39	Maiden Erlegh School in Reading Reading, secondary	0.78	2026	School remains Good (Ofsted ungraded inspection)
40	Park Lane Primary School Reading, primary	0.78	2026	Good (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
41	Blessed Hugh Faringdon Catholic School Reading, secondary	0.76	2026	School remains Good (Ofsted ungraded inspection)
42	King's Academy Prospect Reading, secondary	0.72	2026	Good (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
43	Civitas Academy Reading, primary	0.68	2026	School remains Good (Ofsted ungraded inspection)
44	Reading Girls' School Reading, secondary	0.66	2026	Good (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
45	The WREN School Reading, secondary	0.60	2026	Expected standard (Ofsted report card (current framework))
46	Hartland High School Reading, secondary	0.53	2026	Inadequate (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))

Figures from the Department for Education, applications and offers. 46 schools in Reading have a published per-place figure. Schools with too few places for the figure to mean anything are left off. All schools in Reading · How we compare schools.