Secondary school offers in Tower Hamlets: 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, 79.1% of families living in Tower Hamlets were offered their first-choice secondary school, against 83.6% across England. 92 families (3.4%) were offered none of the schools they named. Tower Hamlets ranks 50 of 150 councils in England, hardest first (see every council).
4 of its 16 secondary schools had more first-choice applications than places.
The most sought-after, by first-choice applications per place offered: St Paul's Way Trust School (2.0 per place), Swanlea School (1.4 per place), Stepney All Saints Church of England Secondary School (1.2 per place), Mulberry School for Girls (1.0 per place), George Green's School (0.9 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 Accepting it does not affect a waiting list or an appeal, and a place that isn't accepted can be withdrawn.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 12 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 Tower Hamlets or the school.
- Bishop Challoner Catholic School London
- Bow School London
- Canary Wharf Secondary London
- Central Foundation Girls' School London
- George Green's School London
- Langdon Park Community School London
- London Enterprise Academy London
- Morpeth School London
- Mulberry Academy London Dock London
- Mulberry Academy Shoreditch London
- Mulberry Stepney Green Mathematics and Computing College London
- Oaklands School 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| St Paul's Way Trust School London |
200 | 2.0 | 48% |
| Swanlea School London |
192 | 1.4 | 68% |
| Stepney All Saints Church of England Secondary School London |
188 | 1.2 | 68% |
| Mulberry School for Girls London |
232 | 1.0 | 88% |
| George Green's School London |
188 | 0.9 | 98% |
| Mulberry Academy Shoreditch London |
143 | 0.8 | 100% |
| Morpeth School London |
219 | 0.8 | 99% |
| Canary Wharf Secondary London |
74 | 0.8 | 100% |
| Central Foundation Girls' School London |
214 | 0.8 | 100% |
| Oaklands School London |
86 | 0.8 | 100% |
| Mulberry Academy London Dock London |
161 | 0.8 | 100% |
| Bishop Challoner Catholic School London |
90 | 0.7 | 100% |
| Langdon Park Community School London |
167 | 0.6 | 100% |
| Mulberry Stepney Green Mathematics and Computing College London |
185 | 0.6 | 91% |
| London Enterprise Academy London |
55 | 0.6 | 100% |
| Bow School London |
122 | 0.6 | 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 Tower Hamlets
| Year | Appeals lodged | Heard by a panel | Upheld | Share of heard appeals upheld |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025/26 | 249 | 216 | 3 | 1.4% |
| 2024/25 | 176 | 154 | 4 | 2.6% |
| 2023/24 | 360 | 292 | 8 | 2.7% |
Secondary school appeals across all of Tower Hamlets, 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 Tower Hamlets
- Every school in Tower Hamlets, with catchment areas and Ofsted
- Starting school in Tower Hamlets
- Map of schools near your home, with your chance of a place where we have the data
Have a specific question about admissions, scores or dates?
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