Contested schools in Sefton
These are the Sefton 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 Sefton
Secondary schools (9)
Each has its own page with a 12-year demand history.
| School | Places | First choices | Per place |
|---|---|---|---|
| Holy Family Catholic High School | 147 | 250 | 1.70 |
| Hillside High School | 162 | 242 | 1.49 |
| Meols Cop High School | 175 | 206 | 1.18 |
| Maghull High School | 219 | 248 | 1.13 |
| Formby High School | 168 | 185 | 1.10 |
| Chesterfield High School | 305 | 327 | 1.07 |
| Greenbank High School | 204 | 210 | 1.03 |
| Birkdale High School | 190 | 188 | 0.99 |
| Litherland High School | 171 | 167 | 0.98 |
Primary schools (37)
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Valewood Primary School | 27 | 55 | 2.04 |
| St Robert Bellarmine Catholic Primary School | 30 | 56 | 1.87 |
| Freshfield Primary School | 30 | 51 | 1.70 |
| Melling Primary School | 30 | 46 | 1.53 |
| Shoreside Primary School | 30 | 41 | 1.37 |
| King's Lander Primary Academy | 30 | 40 | 1.33 |
| Aintree Davenhill Primary School | 60 | 77 | 1.28 |
| St Gregory's Catholic Primary School | 29 | 36 | 1.24 |
| Thomas Gray Primary School | 28 | 34 | 1.21 |
| Forefield Community Infant and Nursery School | 90 | 108 | 1.20 |
| Northway Primary School | 44 | 53 | 1.20 |
| Hatton Hill Primary School | 29 | 34 | 1.17 |
| Hudson Primary School | 28 | 32 | 1.14 |
| St William of York Catholic Primary School | 30 | 34 | 1.13 |
| Summerhill Primary School | 30 | 33 | 1.10 |
| The Grange Primary School | 30 | 33 | 1.10 |
| Ursuline Catholic Primary School | 60 | 65 | 1.08 |
| Netherton Moss Primary School | 30 | 32 | 1.07 |
| Trinity St Peter's CofE Primary School | 30 | 32 | 1.07 |
| Springwell Park Community Primary School | 60 | 62 | 1.03 |
| St Andrews Church of England Primary School, Maghull | 30 | 31 | 1.03 |
| St Thomas Church of England Primary School, Lydiate | 30 | 31 | 1.03 |
| Holy Trinity Church of England Primary School, Southport | 29 | 29 | 1 |
| St Nicholas Church of England Primary School | 30 | 30 | 1 |
| Norwood Primary School | 70 | 69 | 0.99 |
| Holy Rosary Catholic Primary School | 58 | 57 | 0.98 |
| Kew Woods Primary School | 53 | 52 | 0.98 |
| English Martyrs' Catholic Primary School | 60 | 57 | 0.95 |
| St John Bosco Catholic Primary School | 28 | 26 | 0.93 |
| Rimrose Hope CofE Primary School | 44 | 40 | 0.91 |
| St Monica's Catholic Primary School | 59 | 53 | 0.90 |
| St Oswald's Church of England Primary School | 24 | 20 | 0.83 |
| Great Crosby Catholic Primary School | 90 | 73 | 0.81 |
| Our Lady of Compassion Catholic Primary School | 21 | 17 | — |
| St Benedict's Catholic Primary School | 29 | 23 | 0.79 |
| St George's Catholic Primary School | 28 | 22 | 0.79 |
| Green Park Primary School | 30 | 23 | 0.77 |
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.