Most sought-after schools in Waltham Forest

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	Woodford Green Primary School Woodford Green, primary	1.73	2026	Not judged (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
2	Coppermill Primary School London, primary	1.50	2026	School remains Good (Ofsted ungraded inspection)
3	Riverley Primary School London, primary	1.45	2026	School remains Outstanding (Ofsted ungraded inspection)
4	Eden Girls' School, Waltham Forest London, secondary	1.40	2026	School remains Outstanding (Ofsted ungraded inspection)
5	Walthamstow School for Girls London, secondary	1.34	2026	Standards maintained (Ofsted ungraded inspection)
6	Walthamstow Academy London, secondary	1.29	2026	School remains Good (Ofsted ungraded inspection)
7	South Grove Primary School London, primary	1.25	2026	School remains Outstanding (Ofsted ungraded inspection)
8	Roger Ascham Primary School London, primary	1.22	2026	School remains Good (Improving) - S5 Next (Ofsted ungraded inspection)
9	Willow Brook Primary School Academy London, primary	1.20	2026	School remains Outstanding (Ofsted ungraded inspection)
10	St Mary's CofE Primary School London, primary	1.18	2026	School remains Outstanding (Ofsted ungraded inspection)
11	Heathcote School & Science College London, secondary	1.15	2026	School remains Good (Ofsted ungraded inspection)
12	Selwyn Primary School London, primary	1.14	2026	Outstanding (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
13	The Jenny Hammond Primary School London, primary	1.12	2026	School remains Good (Ofsted ungraded inspection)
14	Yardley Primary School London, primary	1.11	2026	Outstanding (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
15	Chingford CofE Primary School London, primary	1.10	2026	Not judged (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
16	Greenleaf Primary School London, primary	1.10	2026	Good (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
17	Ainslie Wood Primary School London, primary	1.08	2026	Good (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
18	Barn Croft Primary School London, primary	1.07	2026	Not judged (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
19	Stoneydown Park School London, primary	1.07	2026	School remains Good (Ofsted ungraded inspection)
20	Davies Lane Primary School London, primary	1.06	2026	Outstanding (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
21	Kelmscott School London, secondary	1.05	2026	Standards maintained (Ofsted ungraded inspection)
22	Frederick Bremer School London, secondary	1.04	2026	School remains Good (Ofsted ungraded inspection)
23	The Winns Primary School London, primary	1.03	2026	School remains Good (Ofsted ungraded inspection)
24	Highams Park School London, secondary	1.01	2026	Good (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
25	Newport School London, primary	1.01	2026	Not judged (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
26	Handsworth Primary School London, primary	1.00	2026	Good (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
27	Salisbury Manor Primary School London, primary	1.00	2026	Good (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
28	St Patrick's Catholic Primary School London, primary	1.00	2026	Good (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
29	Chapel End Infant School and Early Years Centre London, primary	0.98	2026	School remains Good (Ofsted ungraded inspection)
30	Henry Maynard Primary School London, primary	0.97	2026	Good (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
31	Walthamstow Primary Academy London, primary	0.96	2026	School remains Good (Ofsted ungraded inspection)
32	Whittingham Primary Academy London, primary	0.96	2026	Improved significantly (Ofsted ungraded inspection)
33	Leytonstone School London, secondary	0.95	2026	Expected standard (Ofsted report card (current framework))
34	Whitehall Primary School London, primary	0.95	2026	School remains Good (Ofsted ungraded inspection)
35	Lime Academy Larkswood London, primary	0.94	2026	Good (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
36	Barclay Primary School London, primary	0.92	2026	Exceptional (Ofsted report card (current framework))
37	George Tomlinson Primary School London, primary	0.92	2026	School remains Good (Ofsted ungraded inspection)
38	Mayville Academy London, primary	0.92	2026	Good (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
39	Chase Lane Primary School London, primary	0.91	2026	School remains Good (Ofsted ungraded inspection)
40	St Joseph's Catholic Infant School London, primary	0.90	2026	Strong standard (Ofsted report card (current framework))
41	St Saviour's Church of England Primary School London, primary	0.90	2026	Standards maintained (Ofsted ungraded inspection)
42	The Woodside Primary Academy London, primary	0.90	2026	School remains Outstanding (Ofsted ungraded inspection)
43	George Mitchell School London, all through	0.89	2026	Good (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
44	Parkside Primary School Chingford, primary	0.88	2026	School remains Good (Ofsted ungraded inspection)
45	Gwyn Jones Primary School London, primary	0.87	2026	Standards maintained (Ofsted ungraded inspection)
46	Mission Grove Primary School London, primary	0.87	2026	School remains Good (Ofsted ungraded inspection)
47	St Mary's Catholic Primary School London, primary	0.86	2026	Good (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
48	Downsell Primary School London, primary	0.84	2026	Good (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
49	Hillyfield Primary Academy London, primary	0.83	2026	School remains Good (Improving) - S5 Next (Ofsted ungraded inspection)
50	Sybourn Primary School London, primary	0.83	2026	Outstanding (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
51	Norlington School and 6th Form London, secondary	0.82	2026	School remains Good (Ofsted ungraded inspection)
52	Thorpe Hall Primary School London, primary	0.82	2026	School remains Good (Ofsted ungraded inspection)
53	Oakhill Primary School Woodford Green, primary	0.77	2026	Not judged (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
54	Thomas Gamuel Primary School London, primary	0.77	2026	Strong standard (Ofsted report card (current framework))
55	Holy Family Catholic School London, secondary	0.73	2026	Good (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
56	Chingford Foundation School London, secondary	0.71	2026	Good (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
57	Buxton School London, all through	0.64	2026	School remains Good (Ofsted ungraded inspection)
58	Connaught School for Girls London, secondary	0.62	2026	Not judged (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
59	Willowfield School London, secondary	0.62	2026	Expected standard (Ofsted report card (current framework))
60	Longshaw Primary Academy London, primary	0.57	2026	Good (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
61	Dawlish Primary School London, primary	0.53	2026	School remains Good (Ofsted ungraded inspection)
62	Lammas School London, secondary	0.49	2026	Expected standard (Ofsted report card (current framework))
63	South Chingford Foundation School London, secondary	0.44	2026	Needs attention (Ofsted report card (current framework))

Figures from the Department for Education, applications and offers. 63 schools in Waltham Forest have a published per-place figure. Schools with too few places for the figure to mean anything are left off. All schools in Waltham Forest · How we compare schools.