St Ambrose Barlow Roman 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, 220 families put St Ambrose Barlow Roman Catholic High School as their first choice and 459 named it as one of their preferences, for 203 places offered. That is 1.1 first choices for every place. 36 families who put it first were not offered a place there.
First-choice demand has risen from 166 in 2021 to 220 in 2026, while places went from 208 to 203.
Across Salford, 86% 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 Salford lodged 281 appeals against secondary school offers; 204 reached a hearing and 16 succeeded (7.8% 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 | 203 | 220 | 459 | 1.1 | 36 |
| 2025 | 208 | 194 | 422 | 0.9 | 14 |
| 2024 | 209 | 157 | 384 | 0.8 | 1 |
| 2023 | 207 | 155 | 356 | 0.7 | 0 |
| 2022 | 224 | 189 | 356 | 0.8 | 0 |
| 2021 | 208 | 166 | 365 | 0.8 | 0 |
| 2020 | 210 | 203 | 426 | 1.0 | 25 |
| 2019 | 209 | 232 | 452 | 1.1 | 43 |
| 2018 | 209 | 199 | 442 | 1.0 | 21 |
| 2017 | 208 | 245 | 503 | 1.2 | 43 |
| 2016 | 209 | 225 | 467 | 1.1 | 28 |
| 2015 | 179 | 235 | 416 | 1.3 | 64 |
| 2014 | 206 | 244 | 430 | 1.2 | 45 |
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.