Contested schools in County Durham
These are the County Durham schools that turned first-choice families away in at least one of the last three years — either because more families named them first than they had places, or because they refused families who named them first anyway. Figures shown are for 2026/27. Demand is not a forecast: an oversubscribed school turns more families away, which is not the same as their appeals succeeding more often.
Appeal success rates for County Durham
Secondary schools (14)
Each has its own page with a 12-year demand history.
| School | Places | First choices | Per place |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tanfield School | 149 | 201 | 1.35 |
| Durham Johnston Comprehensive School | 257 | 328 | 1.28 |
| Wolsingham School | 143 | 181 | 1.27 |
| Belmont Community School | 185 | 212 | 1.15 |
| Easington Academy | 189 | 202 | 1.07 |
| Woodham Academy | 225 | 240 | 1.07 |
| Park View School | 235 | 250 | 1.06 |
| Sedgefield Community College | 198 | 201 | 1.02 |
| The Academy at Shotton Hall | 271 | 277 | 1.02 |
| St John's Catholic School & Sixth Form College | 209 | 210 | 1 |
| Whitworth Park Academy | 218 | 219 | 1 |
| Staindrop Academy | 95 | 94 | 0.99 |
| King James I Academy Bishop Auckland | 156 | 152 | 0.97 |
| St Bede's Catholic School and Sixth Form College, Lanchester | 221 | 205 | 0.93 |
Primary schools (47)
Primary schools are listed here as figures rather than pages. Most refusals at the Reception intake are infant class size cases, where a panel can only act on three narrow grounds and fewer than one in ten appeals succeeds — so the honest thing to publish is the data, not a page inviting an appeal.
| School | Places | First choices | Per place |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kirk Merrington Primary School | 25 | 36 | 1.44 |
| Montalbo Nursery & Primary School | 30 | 42 | 1.40 |
| St Oswald's Church of England Aided Primary and Nursery School | 20 | 27 | 1.35 |
| Byerley Park Primary School | 29 | 38 | 1.31 |
| Shotton Hall Primary School | 50 | 61 | 1.22 |
| St Anne's CofE Primary School | 31 | 37 | 1.19 |
| Aycliffe Village Primary and Nursery School | 30 | 35 | 1.17 |
| St Wilfrid's Catholic Primary School, Bishop Auckland | 30 | 35 | 1.17 |
| Stanley (Crook) Primary School | 19 | 22 | 1.16 |
| Castleside Primary School | 20 | 23 | 1.15 |
| St Charles' Catholic Primary School, Tudhoe | 30 | 34 | 1.13 |
| Witton Gilbert Primary School | 30 | 34 | 1.13 |
| Witton-le-Wear Primary School | 15 | 17 | — |
| Framwellgate Moor Primary School | 43 | 48 | 1.12 |
| St Godrics Catholic Primary School, Thornley | 12 | 13 | — |
| St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Blackhall | 12 | 13 | — |
| Rosa Street Primary and Nursery Academy | 30 | 32 | 1.07 |
| St William's Catholic Primary School | 15 | 16 | — |
| Thornhill Primary School | 30 | 32 | 1.07 |
| Our Lady Star of the Sea Catholic Primary School | 17 | 18 | — |
| Shield Row Primary School | 28 | 29 | 1.04 |
| Hartside Primary Academy | 30 | 31 | 1.03 |
| St Helen Auckland Community Primary School | 30 | 31 | 1.03 |
| Toft Hill Primary School | 29 | 30 | 1.03 |
| Blessed John Duckett Catholic Primary School, Tow Law | 7 | 7 | — |
| Browney Primary Academy | 20 | 20 | 1 |
| Cassop Primary School | 7 | 7 | — |
| Cockfield Primary School | 9 | 9 | — |
| Esh CofE (Aided) Primary School | 10 | 10 | — |
| Lanchester Endowed Parochial Primary School | 37 | 37 | 1 |
| North Park Primary School | 17 | 17 | — |
| Peases West Academy | 7 | 7 | — |
| Red Rose Primary School | 43 | 43 | 1 |
| Roseberry Primary and Nursery School | 28 | 28 | 1 |
| Seaham Trinity Primary School | 25 | 25 | 1 |
| Sedgefield Hardwick Primary Academy | 30 | 30 | 1 |
| St Joseph's Catholic Primary, Stanley | 14 | 14 | — |
| St Michael's Church of England Primary School | 15 | 15 | — |
| St Stephen's Church of England Primary School | 21 | 21 | 1 |
| Tudhoe Colliery Primary School | 30 | 30 | 1 |
| Langley Moor Primary School | 30 | 29 | 0.97 |
| Wingate Primary School | 37 | 36 | 0.97 |
| St John's Church of England Aided Primary School, Shildon | 27 | 26 | 0.96 |
| Woodham Burn Community Primary School and Nursery | 21 | 20 | 0.95 |
| Shincliffe CofE (Controlled) Primary School | 30 | 27 | 0.90 |
| Sugar Hill Primary School | 44 | 39 | 0.89 |
| Easington CofE Primary School | 22 | 19 | — |
Department for Education, Primary and secondary school applications and offers, school-level file, 2026/27. Appeal outcomes are not published for individual schools — how we source and calculate the figures.