Families are given three choices as to which primary school they would like to send their child, but naturally parents hope to secure their first choice place.
Whilst many parents do secure their first choice school, there are always a significant number of schools which are oversubscribed when it comes to places wanted and spaces available.
With primary school place applications set to open on Monday (September 29) we’ve been looking at the Department for Education data for the city’s primary schools and looking at which schools for the latest (September 2025) intake of pupils had more first choice requests than places available.
Checkout the hardest 17 primary schools to get into for the current academic year (2025/26).
Any schools not listed means they had sufficient spaces to accommodate first choice requests.
9. Bernard Gilpin Primary School
64 pupils put this school as their first choice but only 57 first choice offers were given, meaning a success rate of 89.06%. | Google
10. Newbottle Primary Academy
59 pupils put this school as their first choice but only 53 first choice offers were given, meaning a success rate of 89.83%. Photo: Google
11. St Paul's C of E Primary School
48 pupils put this school as their first choice but only 44 first choice offers were given, meaning a success rate of 91.67. Photograph: Google images Photo: Google
12. East Herrington Primary Academy
64 pupils put this school as their first choice but only 59 first choice offers were given, meaning a success rate of 92.19%. | Google