Most sought-after schools in West Berkshire

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	Fir Tree Primary School and Nursery Newbury, primary	1.79	2026	Good (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
2	Birch Copse Primary School Reading, primary	1.65	2026	Outstanding (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
3	Downsway Primary School Reading, primary	1.57	2026	School remains Good (Ofsted ungraded inspection)
4	Robert Sandilands Primary School and Nursery Newbury, primary	1.48	2026	Improved significantly (Ofsted ungraded inspection)
5	Falkland Primary School Newbury, primary	1.32	2026	Not judged (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
6	Parsons Down Infant School Thatcham, primary	1.31	2026	School remains Good (Ofsted ungraded inspection)
7	Burghfield St Mary's C.E. Primary School Reading, primary	1.30	2026	Good (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
8	Highwood Copse Primary School Newbury, primary	1.30	2026	Good (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
9	The Downs School Newbury, secondary	1.22	2026	Not judged (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
10	Cold Ash St Mark's CE Primary School Thatcham, primary	1.21	2026	School remains Good (Ofsted ungraded inspection)
11	St Joseph's Catholic Primary School Newbury, primary	1.13	2026	School remains Good (Ofsted ungraded inspection)
12	Englefield C.E. Primary School Reading, primary	1.12	2026	Not judged (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
13	Denefield School Reading, secondary	1.07	2026	Good (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
14	Shaw-cum-Donnington C.E. Primary School Newbury, primary	1.07	2026	Not judged (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
15	The Willink School Reading, secondary	1.06	2026	Expected standard (Ofsted report card (current framework))
16	St Bartholomew's School Newbury, secondary	1.04	2026	Strong standard (Ofsted report card (current framework))
17	St Finian's Catholic Primary School Thatcham, primary	1.03	2026	Expected standard (Ofsted report card (current framework))
18	Lambourn CofE Primary School Hungerford, primary	1.00	2026	Not judged (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
19	Hungerford Primary School Hungerford, primary	0.98	2026	Standards maintained (Ofsted ungraded inspection)
20	Speenhamland School Newbury, primary	0.98	2026	Good (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
21	Bradfield C.E. Primary School Reading, primary	0.97	2026	Improved significantly (Ofsted ungraded inspection)
22	Trinity School Newbury, secondary	0.97	2026	School remains Good (Ofsted ungraded inspection)
23	Chieveley Primary School Newbury, primary	0.96	2026	Not judged (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
24	Kennet School Thatcham, secondary	0.96	2026	Good (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
25	Park House School Newbury, secondary	0.96	2026	Not judged (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
26	Spurcroft Primary School Thatcham, primary	0.96	2026	Good (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
27	Calcot Infant School and Nursery Reading, primary	0.95	2026	Good (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
28	Francis Baily Primary School Thatcham, primary	0.95	2026	Expected standard (Ofsted report card (current framework))
29	Mrs Bland's Infant School Reading, primary	0.95	2026	Not judged (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
30	Theale C.E. Primary School Reading, primary	0.94	2026	Not judged (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
31	Curridge Primary School Thatcham, primary	0.93	2026	School remains Good (Ofsted ungraded inspection)
32	Hermitage Primary School Thatcham, primary	0.93	2026	Not judged (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
33	John O'Gaunt School Hungerford, secondary	0.92	2026	Not judged (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
34	Kintbury St Mary's C.E. Primary School Hungerford, primary	0.92	2026	School remains Good (Ofsted ungraded inspection)
35	Bucklebury C.E. Primary School Reading, primary	0.91	2026	Not judged (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
36	Mortimer St. John's C.E. Infant School Reading, primary	0.91	2026	Not judged (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
37	St John the Evangelist CofE Infant and Nursery School Newbury, primary	0.91	2026	Not judged (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
38	John Rankin Infant and Nursery School Newbury, primary	0.90	2026	School remains Good (Ofsted ungraded inspection)
39	Kennet Valley Primary School Reading, primary	0.88	2026	Not judged (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
40	Springfield Primary School Reading, primary	0.88	2026	Expected standard (Ofsted report card (current framework))
41	Stockcross C.E. School Newbury, primary	0.87	2026	Expected standard (Ofsted report card (current framework))
42	Sulhamstead and Ufton Nervet School Reading, primary	0.87	2026	School remains Good (Ofsted ungraded inspection)
43	Whitelands Park Primary School Thatcham, primary	0.87	2026	Good (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
44	St Paul's Catholic Primary School Reading, primary	0.86	2026	School remains Good (Ofsted ungraded inspection)
45	Thatcham Park CofE Primary Thatcham, primary	0.86	2026	Good (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
46	Yattendon C.E. Primary School Thatcham, primary	0.86	2026	School remains Good (Ofsted ungraded inspection)
47	Little Heath School Reading, secondary	0.84	2026	School remains Good (Ofsted ungraded inspection)
48	Aldermaston C.E. Primary School Reading, primary	0.82	2026	Good (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
49	Theale Green School Reading, secondary	0.81	2026	Expected standard (Ofsted report card (current framework))
50	Long Lane Primary School Reading, primary	0.80	2026	Standards maintained (Ofsted ungraded inspection)
51	Westwood Farm Infant School Reading, primary	0.78	2026	Good (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
52	Enborne C.E. Primary School Newbury, primary	0.75	2026	Standards maintained (Ofsted ungraded inspection)
53	The Willows Primary School Newbury, primary	0.70	2026	Strong standard (Ofsted report card (current framework))
54	The Winchcombe School Newbury, primary	0.67	2026	Needs attention (Ofsted report card (current framework))

Figures from the Department for Education, applications and offers. 54 schools in West Berkshire have a published per-place figure. Schools with too few places for the figure to mean anything are left off. All schools in West Berkshire · How we compare schools.