Secondary school offers in Lambeth: offer day 2027
National Offer Day Monday 1 March 2027 · 16 secondary schools · first-choice odds, waiting lists and appeals
How likely is a first choice here?
For September 2026 entry, 61.4% of families living in Lambeth were offered their first-choice secondary school, against 83.6% across England. 193 families (8.8%) were offered none of the schools they named. Lambeth ranks 3 of 150 councils in England, hardest first (see every council).
6 of its 16 secondary schools had more first-choice applications than places.
The most sought-after, by first-choice applications per place offered: Woodmansterne School (3.4 per place), Bishop Thomas Grant Catholic Secondary School (1.7 per place), Oasis Academy South Bank (1.3 per place), The Elms Academy (1.2 per place), The Norwood School (1.1 per place).
If you didn't get your first choice
- Accept the place you were offered by the date in your offer letter. Accepting it does not affect a waiting list or an appeal, and a place that isn't accepted can be withdrawn.
- Get on the waiting lists you want. Every school must keep one until at least 31 December of the year your child starts. It is ranked by the school's admission rules, not by when you joined, so a family moving closer can go above you. Some councils add you automatically for schools you ranked higher than the one offered; your offer letter says which.
- Decide whether to appeal. You can appeal for every school that refused your child. You get at least 20 school days from the offer to lodge it, and on-time appeals must be heard within 40 school days of that deadline. The figures below show how often appeals succeed here.
- Look at schools that took lower preferences. These are the likeliest to have room now.
Schools that took children who ranked them lower
For September 2026 entry these 10 schools offered more places than they had first-choice applications, so some went to families who put them second or lower. They are the likeliest to have room after offer day; ask Lambeth or the school.
- Ark Evelyn Grace Academy London
- City Heights E-ACT Academy London
- Harris Academy Clapham London
- La Retraite Roman Catholic Girls' School London
- Lilian Baylis Technology School London
- London Nautical, City of London Academy London
- Platanos College London
- Saint Gabriel's College London
- The Elmgreen School London
- Trinity Academy London
Every secondary school: demand for 2026 entry
Sorted by first-choice applications per place, the most contested first.
| School | Places offered | First choices per place | First choices offered |
|---|---|---|---|
| Woodmansterne School London |
24 | 3.4 | 26% |
| Bishop Thomas Grant Catholic Secondary School London |
176 | 1.7 | 53% |
| Oasis Academy South Bank London |
116 | 1.3 | 61% |
| The Elms Academy London |
130 | 1.2 | 56% |
| The Norwood School London |
174 | 1.1 | 62% |
| Dunraven School LONDON |
152 | 1.0 | 60% |
| Lilian Baylis Technology School London |
119 | 0.9 | 77% |
| The Elmgreen School London |
172 | 0.7 | 83% |
| London Nautical, City of London Academy London |
35 | 0.7 | 100% |
| Platanos College London |
99 | 0.7 | 100% |
| La Retraite Roman Catholic Girls' School London |
150 | 0.6 | 96% |
| Trinity Academy London |
78 | 0.6 | 100% |
| Harris Academy Clapham London |
100 | 0.6 | 100% |
| Saint Gabriel's College London |
101 | 0.5 | 100% |
| Ark Evelyn Grace Academy London |
51 | 0.5 | 100% |
| City Heights E-ACT Academy London |
71 | 0.2 | 100% |
Places offered is the number of offers made on national offer day, and first choices offered the share of families who put the school first and got it (Department for Education, September 2026 entry).
Appeals in Lambeth
| Year | Appeals lodged | Heard by a panel | Upheld | Share of heard appeals upheld |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025/26 | 84 | 61 | 6 | 9.8% |
| 2024/25 | 127 | 93 | 15 | 16.1% |
| 2023/24 | 152 | 125 | 17 | 13.6% |
Secondary school appeals across all of Lambeth, from the Department for Education. Appeals are not published school by school. Across England in 2025/26, 19.5% of 27,084 secondary appeals heard were upheld. How appeal odds differ between councils.
More for Lambeth
- Every school in Lambeth, with catchment areas and Ofsted
- Starting school in Lambeth
- Map of schools near your home, with your chance of a place where we have the data
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