Most sought-after schools in Southampton

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	Saint George Catholic Voluntary Aided College Southampton Southampton, secondary	1.57	2026	Outstanding (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
2	Springhill Catholic Primary School Southampton, primary	1.45	2026	Outstanding (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
3	Highfield Church of England Primary School Southampton, primary	1.35	2026	Good (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
4	Cantell School Southampton, secondary	1.33	2026	Outstanding (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
5	St Mark's Church of England School Southampton, all through	1.33	2026	Good (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
6	Bitterne Manor Primary and Nursery School Southampton, primary	1.25	2026	Good (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
7	Redbridge Primary School Southampton, primary	1.25	2026	Standards maintained (Ofsted ungraded inspection)
8	St Patrick's Catholic Primary School Southampton, primary	1.24	2026	Improved significantly (Ofsted ungraded inspection)
9	Upper Shirley High School Southampton, secondary	1.15	2026	Standards maintained (Ofsted ungraded inspection)
10	Sinclair Primary and Nursery School - Part of the Learning Federation Partnership of Schools Southampton, primary	1.11	2026	Good (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
11	Glenfield Infant School Southampton, primary	1.09	2026	Expected standard (Ofsted report card (current framework))
12	Oasis Academy Sholing Southampton, secondary	1.08	2026	Not judged (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
13	Hightown Primary School Southampton, primary	1.07	2026	Good (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
14	Woodlands Community College Southampton, secondary	1.07	2026	Good (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
15	Redbridge Community School Southampton, secondary	1.03	2026	Good (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
16	St Denys Primary School Southampton, primary	1.03	2026	Standards maintained (Ofsted ungraded inspection)
17	Holy Family Catholic Primary School - Part of the Learning Federation Partnership of Schools Southampton, primary	1.02	2026	Standards maintained (Ofsted ungraded inspection)
18	St John's Primary and Nursery School Southampton, primary	1.02	2026	Not judged (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
19	Bitterne Park School Southampton, secondary	1.01	2026	Good (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
20	Bassett Green Primary School Southampton, primary	1.00	2026	Expected standard (Ofsted report card (current framework))
21	Foundry Lane Primary School Southampton, primary	1.00	2026	Requires improvement (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
22	Harefield Primary School Southampton, primary	1.00	2026	Requires improvement (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
23	Hope Community School Southampton Southampton, primary	1.00	2026	Expected standard (Ofsted report card (current framework))
24	Mansbridge Primary School Southampton, primary	1.00	2026	Good (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
25	Shirley Warren Primary & Nursery School Southampton, primary	1.00	2026	Not judged (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
26	St Monica Primary School Southampton, primary	1.00	2026	Not judged (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
27	Thornhill Primary School Southampton, primary	1.00	2026	Expected standard (Ofsted report card (current framework))
28	Townhill Infant School Southampton, primary	1.00	2026	Strong standard (Ofsted report card (current framework))
29	Weston Shore Infant School Southampton, primary	1.00	2026	Good (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
30	Wordsworth Primary and Nursery School Southampton, primary	1.00	2026	Not judged (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
31	Bitterne Park Primary & Nursery School - Part of the Learning Federation Partnership of Schools Southampton, primary	0.99	2026	Not judged (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
32	Fairisle Infant and Nursery School Southampton, primary	0.98	2026	Not judged (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
33	Oakwood Primary School Southampton, primary	0.98	2026	Expected standard (Ofsted report card (current framework))
34	Shirley Infant School Southampton, primary	0.98	2026	Not judged (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
35	Mount Pleasant Infants Southampton, primary	0.97	2026	Not judged (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
36	St Mary's Church of England Primary School & Nursery Southampton, primary	0.97	2026	Outstanding (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
37	Weston Park Primary School Southampton, primary	0.97	2026	Good (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
38	Woolston Infant School Southampton, primary	0.97	2026	School remains Good (Ofsted ungraded inspection)
39	Tanners Brook Primary School Southampton, primary	0.96	2026	Not judged (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
40	Newlands Primary School Southampton, primary	0.95	2026	School remains Good (Ofsted ungraded inspection)
41	Bevois Town Primary School Southampton, primary	0.94	2026	School remains Good (Improving) - S5 Next (Ofsted ungraded inspection)
42	Freemantle Church of England Community Academy Southampton, primary	0.93	2026	School remains Good (Ofsted ungraded inspection)
43	Kanes Hill Primary School Southampton, primary	0.93	2026	Good (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
44	Ludlow Infant Academy Southampton, primary	0.93	2026	School remains Good (Ofsted ungraded inspection)
45	Swaythling Primary School Southampton, primary	0.93	2026	Standards maintained (Ofsted ungraded inspection)
46	Valentine Primary School & Nursery Southampton, primary	0.93	2026	Not judged (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
47	Mansel Park Primary & Nursery School - Part of the Learning Federation Partnership of Schools Southampton, primary	0.92	2026	Improved significantly (Ofsted ungraded inspection)
48	Sholing Infant School Southampton, primary	0.92	2026	Not judged (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
49	Moorlands Primary School Southampton, primary	0.91	2026	Not judged (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
50	Bitterne Church of England Primary School Southampton, primary	0.89	2026	Not judged (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
51	Hollybrook Infant School Southampton, primary	0.89	2026	Standards maintained (Ofsted ungraded inspection)
52	Portswood Primary School Southampton, primary	0.89	2026	Strong standard (Ofsted report card (current framework))
53	Regents Park Community College Southampton, secondary	0.85	2026	School remains Good (Ofsted ungraded inspection)
54	St Anne's Catholic School Southampton, secondary	0.81	2026	School remains Outstanding (Ofsted ungraded inspection)
55	Oasis Academy Mayfield Southampton, secondary	0.70	2026	Good (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
56	Banister Primary School Southampton, primary	0.67	2026	School remains Good (Ofsted ungraded inspection)
57	Weston Secondary School Southampton, secondary	0.60	2026	Requires improvement (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
58	Oasis Academy Lord's Hill Southampton, secondary	0.28	2026	Inadequate (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))

Figures from the Department for Education, applications and offers. 58 schools in Southampton have a published per-place figure. Schools with too few places for the figure to mean anything are left off. All schools in Southampton · How we compare schools.