St Gabriel's RC High School, a Voluntary 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, 150 families put St Gabriel's RC High School, a Voluntary Academy as their first choice and 405 named it as one of their preferences, for 189 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.
First-choice demand has fallen from 177 in 2021 to 150 in 2026, while places went from 202 to 189.
Across Bury, 91% of families were offered their first-choice secondary school for 2026 entry, and 98% were offered one of the schools they named.
In 2025, families in Bury lodged 265 appeals against secondary school offers; 158 reached a hearing and 46 succeeded (29.1% 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 | 189 | 150 | 405 | 0.8 | 1 |
| 2025 | 181 | 153 | 344 | 0.8 | 2 |
| 2024 | 203 | 179 | 368 | 0.9 | 8 |
| 2023 | 205 | 174 | 362 | 0.8 | 2 |
| 2022 | 207 | 188 | 357 | 0.9 | 0 |
| 2021 | 202 | 177 | 376 | 0.9 | 7 |
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.