Secondary school offers in Southwark: offer day 2027
National Offer Day Monday 1 March 2027 · 19 secondary schools · first-choice odds, waiting lists and appeals
How likely is a first choice here?
For September 2026 entry, 72.1% of families living in Southwark were offered their first-choice secondary school, against 83.6% across England. 102 families (4.1%) were offered none of the schools they named. Southwark ranks 23 of 150 councils in England, hardest first (see every council).
5 of its 19 secondary schools had more first-choice applications than places.
The most sought-after, by first-choice applications per place offered: Kingsdale Foundation School (2.3 per place), Sacred Heart Catholic School (2.1 per place), The Charter School North Dulwich (2.0 per place), St Michael's Catholic College (1.3 per place), The St Thomas the Apostle College (1.2 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 Accepting it does not affect a waiting list or an appeal, and a place that isn't accepted can be withdrawn.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 14 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 Southwark or the school.
- Ark All Saints Academy London
- Ark Globe Academy London
- Ark Walworth Academy London
- Bacon's College London
- City of London Academy (Southwark) London
- Haberdashers' Borough Academy London
- Harris Academy Bermondsey London
- Harris Academy Peckham London
- Harris Boys' Academy East Dulwich London
- Harris Girls' Academy East Dulwich London
- Notre Dame Catholic Girls' School London
- St Saviour's and St Olave's Church of England School London
- The Charter School Bermondsey London
- The Charter School East Dulwich 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kingsdale Foundation School London |
416 | 2.3 | 35% |
| Sacred Heart Catholic School London |
115 | 2.1 | 43% |
| The Charter School North Dulwich London |
178 | 2.0 | 46% |
| St Michael's Catholic College London |
150 | 1.3 | 64% |
| The St Thomas the Apostle College London |
150 | 1.2 | 65% |
| City of London Academy (Southwark) London |
240 | 0.9 | 93% |
| The Charter School East Dulwich London |
231 | 0.9 | 64% |
| Bacon's College London |
185 | 0.8 | 99% |
| Harris Academy Bermondsey London |
115 | 0.8 | 100% |
| Haberdashers' Borough Academy London |
180 | 0.8 | 95% |
| Harris Boys' Academy East Dulwich London |
150 | 0.8 | 75% |
| The Charter School Bermondsey London |
110 | 0.7 | 100% |
| Ark Walworth Academy London |
130 | 0.7 | 100% |
| Ark Globe Academy London |
81 | 0.7 | 100% |
| Harris Girls' Academy East Dulwich London |
140 | 0.7 | 92% |
| Ark All Saints Academy London |
104 | 0.6 | 100% |
| Notre Dame Catholic Girls' School London |
31 | 0.6 | 100% |
| St Saviour's and St Olave's Church of England School London |
66 | 0.4 | 100% |
| Harris Academy Peckham London |
114 | 0.4 | 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 Southwark
| Year | Appeals lodged | Heard by a panel | Upheld | Share of heard appeals upheld |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025/26 | 197 | 182 | 28 | 15.4% |
| 2024/25 | 164 | 152 | 33 | 21.7% |
| 2023/24 | 230 | 213 | 24 | 11.3% |
Secondary school appeals across all of Southwark, 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 Southwark
- Every school in Southwark, with catchment areas and Ofsted
- Starting school in Southwark
- Map of schools near your home, with your chance of a place where we have the data
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