Old Ford Primary - A Paradigm Academy: 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, 76 families put Old Ford Primary - A Paradigm Academy as their first choice and 101 named it as one of their preferences, for 83 places offered. It had fewer first-choice applications than places, so in 2026 a family who put it first could expect an offer unless the school's other criteria ruled them out.
Demand has been fairly steady: 71 first choices in 2021, against 76 in 2026.
Across Tower Hamlets, 93% of families were offered their first-choice primary school for 2026 entry, and 98% were offered one of the schools they named.
In 2025, families in Tower Hamlets lodged 54 appeals against primary school offers; 49 reached a hearing and 1 succeeded (2% 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 | 83 | 76 | 101 | 0.9 | 0 |
| 2025 | 72 | 65 | 130 | 0.9 | 0 |
| 2024 | 65 | 60 | 118 | 0.9 | 0 |
| 2023 | 80 | 75 | 128 | 0.9 | 0 |
| 2022 | 81 | 76 | 141 | 0.9 | 0 |
| 2021 | 78 | 71 | 139 | 0.9 | 0 |
| 2020 | 89 | 75 | 146 | 0.8 | 0 |
| 2019 | 86 | 83 | 160 | 1.0 | 0 |
| 2018 | 90 | 98 | 173 | 1.1 | 9 |
| 2017 | 88 | 97 | 194 | 1.1 | 10 |
| 2016 | 88 | 99 | 241 | 1.1 | 17 |
| 2015 | 89 | 97 | 204 | 1.1 | 15 |
| 2014 | 89 | 105 | 270 | 1.2 | 21 |
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.