Most Cambridgeshire children get first-choice primary school place

Summarised from 2 outlets · Updated 26 Oct, 05:01 · Archive

Most Cambridgeshire primary school applicants are offered their first choice, though some popular schools are heavily oversubscribed.

Data on Cambridgeshire primary school admissions shows that the majority of applicants secured places at their preferred schools. In 2026, 94.7 per cent of Cambridgeshire children were given a place at their first preference school, and 98.9 per cent received a place at one of their top three choices.

Some schools remained significantly oversubscribed. Milton Road Primary School in Cambridge was the most competitive, with only 62.5 per cent of students who selected it as their first choice offered a place. The school received 96 first preferences for just 60 available places. Ridgefield Primary School in Cambridge and Abbots Ripton Primary School near Huntingdon followed, with success rates of 69.8 per cent and 70.8 per cent respectively. Ridgefield had 43 first preferences competing for 30 places, whilst Abbots Ripton received 24 first preferences for 17 places.

Milton Road has been consistently oversubscribed across multiple years. In 2025, it remained the most contested school, with 113 first preferences for 53 available places, meaning only 53 per cent of applicants were successful. Newnham Croft Primary School and St Alban's Catholic Primary School in Cambridge were also highly competitive that year.

How it is being reported

• Hardest primary schools to get your child a place inThe hardest primary schools in Cambridgeshire to get your child a place in have been revealed in new data. Most schools are able to offer a place to every student who picked them as their top preference, but some don’t have enough for everyone.Cambs Times · 26 Oct, 04:00
• Hardest primary schools to get your child a place inThe hardest primary schools in Cambridgeshire to get your child a place in have been revealed in new data. Most schools are able to offer a place to every student who picked them as their top preference, but some don’t have enough for everyone.Ely Standard · 26 Oct, 04:00

In this story: Milton Road Primary School · Ridgefield Primary School · Abbots Ripton Primary School · Cambridge · Cambridgeshire · Newnham Croft Primary School · St Alban's Catholic Primary School

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