Cardinal Heenan Catholic High 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, 299 families put Cardinal Heenan Catholic High School as their first choice and 650 named it as one of their preferences, for 219 places offered. That is 1.4 first choices for every place. 115 families who put it first were not offered a place there.
First-choice demand has risen from 191 in 2021 to 299 in 2026, while places went from 209 to 219.
22% of applications came from families living in another council area.
Across Liverpool, 68% of families were offered their first-choice secondary school for 2026 entry, and 90% were offered one of the schools they named.
In 2025, families in Liverpool lodged 872 appeals against secondary school offers; 779 reached a hearing and 59 succeeded (7.6% 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 | 219 | 299 | 650 | 1.4 | 115 |
| 2025 | 217 | 325 | 632 | 1.5 | 134 |
| 2024 | 244 | 330 | 629 | 1.4 | 114 |
| 2023 | 219 | 284 | 583 | 1.3 | 103 |
| 2022 | 207 | 240 | 531 | 1.2 | 87 |
| 2021 | 209 | 191 | 469 | 0.9 | 38 |
| 2020 | 238 | 209 | 550 | 0.9 | 42 |
| 2019 | 238 | 193 | 490 | 0.8 | 23 |
| 2018 | 239 | 235 | 511 | 1.0 | 53 |
| 2017 | 239 | 183 | 444 | 0.8 | 18 |
| 2016 | 237 | 192 | 444 | 0.8 | 19 |
| 2015 | 239 | 193 | 389 | 0.8 | 10 |
| 2014 | 240 | 210 | 413 | 0.9 | 25 |
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.