Wolverhampton among hardest places in England to secure first-choice secondary school

Wolverhampton is among the toughest areas in England for families trying to secure their first-choice secondary school, new figures have revealed.

With parents preparing to find out where their children will be heading in September 2027, figures from the Department for Education show that just 74.8 per cent of Wolverhampton families secured their preferred secondary school place this year.

That compares to a national average of 83.6 per cent, placing Wolverhampton 32nd out of 150 local authorities in England for the difficulty of securing a first-choice place.

Of the 3,467 families who applied for a secondary school place for September 2026, 219 – around 6.3 per cent – were not offered a place at any of the schools they had named.

The figures also reveal significant competition for places at some of the city's most popular schools, with eight of Wolverhampton's 20 secondary schools receiving more first-choice applications than the number of places offered.

The Royal School, Wolverhampton, was the most heavily oversubscribed, attracting 5.7 first-choice applications for every place offered.

The school made 30 offers on National Offer Day, with just 12 per cent of families who named it as their first choice securing a place.

Thomas Telford University Technical College was the second most oversubscribed, receiving 2.3 first-choice applications per place, with only 33 per cent of first-choice applicants successful.

Wolverhampton Girls' High School, which requires pupils to pass an entrance examination, attracted 1.7 first-choice applications per place, with 44 per cent of those who selected it as their preferred school receiving an offer.

Elsewhere, Coppice Performing Arts School, Highfields School and Heath Park each attracted around 1.3 first-choice applications per place.

At Coppice, 68 per cent of first-choice applicants were offered places, compared to 72 per cent at Highfields and 70 per cent at Heath Park.

St Edmund's Catholic Academy and Ormiston SWB Academy in Bilston were also oversubscribed, with both receiving around 1.1 first-choice applications per place.

However, the figures show that competition varied considerably across Wolverhampton, with 12 schools receiving fewer first-choice applications than the number of places they offered.

These included Aldersley High School, Colton Hills Community School, Moreton School, Moseley Park and Ormiston NEW Academy.

Other schools in this category were Our Lady and St Chad Catholic Academy, Smestow Academy, St Matthias School, St Peter's Collegiate Academy, St Regis Church of England Academy, The Khalsa Academy Wolverhampton and Wednesfield Academy.

At Colton Hills Community School, there were approximately 0.5 first-choice applications for every place offered, while Aldersley High School and Moreton School each received around 0.7.

Both Colton Hills and Aldersley are rated Good by Ofsted, as is Moreton School.

The figures suggest families who miss out on their preferred school may have alternative options, although the number of places available following National Offer Day will depend on demand, waiting lists and subsequent admissions.

Parents whose children are refused a place at their preferred school can also lodge an appeal.

However, separate Department for Education figures show that just 44 of the 428 secondary school admission appeals heard in Wolverhampton during the 2025/26 academic year were successful.

that represents a success rate of 10.3 per cent, considerably below the national average of 19.5 per cent.

The previous year saw 27 of 357 appeals upheld, a success rate of 7.6 per cent, while 62 of 497 appeals were successful in 2023/24.

Families who do not receive their first-choice school are advised to accept the place they have been offered while exploring waiting lists and appeals.

Accepting an alternative place does not prevent parents from appealing or remaining on a waiting list for a preferred school.

Waiting lists must be maintained until at least December 31 in the year a child starts school, with places allocated according to each school's admissions criteria rather than the date a family joined the list.

Parents must also be given at least 20 school days to submit an appeal following notification of an unsuccessful application.

The next National Offer Day for secondary school places will take place on Monday, March 1, 2027, when families across Wolverhampton will discover which schools their children have been allocated.

The latest figures relate to applications for September 2026 and do not necessarily reflect the level of competition for places in 2027.