Admiral Lord Nelson School: admissions history
How many families applied, how many places there were, and how far the last place went - every year we hold.
For September 2026 entry, 288 families put Admiral Lord Nelson School as their first choice and 792 named it as one of their preferences, for 248 places offered. That is 1.2 first choices for every place. 55 families who put it first were not offered a place there.
Demand has been fairly steady: 271 first choices in 2021, against 288 in 2026.
Across Portsmouth, 83% of families were offered their first-choice secondary school for 2026 entry, and 96% were offered one of the schools they named.
In 2025, families in Portsmouth lodged 101 appeals against secondary school offers; 84 reached a hearing and 11 succeeded (13.1% of those heard).
Applications and offers by year
| Entry year | Places offered | First choices | Named at all | First choices per place | First choices not offered |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 248 | 288 | 792 | 1.2 | 55 |
| 2025 | 249 | 341 | 748 | 1.4 | 112 |
| 2024 | 249 | 305 | 642 | 1.2 | 71 |
| 2023 | 255 | 269 | 576 | 1.1 | 23 |
| 2022 | 243 | 237 | 411 | 1.0 | 10 |
| 2021 | 246 | 271 | 449 | 1.1 | 32 |
| 2020 | 246 | 239 | 465 | 1.0 | 6 |
| 2019 | 216 | 212 | 452 | 1.0 | 7 |
| 2018 | 217 | 236 | 435 | 1.1 | 27 |
| 2017 | 217 | 222 | 404 | 1.0 | 8 |
| 2016 | 199 | 234 | 452 | 1.2 | 47 |
| 2015 | 200 | 206 | 513 | 1.0 | 31 |
Source: DfE, Primary and secondary school applications and offers (school-level file). "Places offered" is the number of offers made on national offer day, which can differ from the school's published admission number.