St James' CofE Primary School, Birch-in-Rusholme: 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, 33 families put St James' CofE Primary School, Birch-in-Rusholme as their first choice and 57 named it as one of their preferences, for 30 places offered. That is 1.1 first choices for every place. 3 families who put it first were not offered a place there.
Demand has been fairly steady: 31 first choices in 2021, against 33 in 2026.
Across Manchester, 95% of families were offered their first-choice primary school for 2026 entry, and 99% were offered one of the schools they named.
In 2025, families in Manchester lodged 288 appeals against primary school offers; 147 reached a hearing and 33 succeeded (22.4% 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 | 30 | 33 | 57 | 1.1 | 3 |
| 2025 | 20 | 20 | 45 | 1.0 | 0 |
| 2024 | 25 | 25 | 53 | 1.0 | 0 |
| 2023 | 20 | 20 | 60 | 1.0 | 0 |
| 2022 | 30 | 31 | 54 | 1.0 | 1 |
| 2021 | 29 | 31 | 58 | 1.1 | 4 |
| 2020 | 30 | 31 | 52 | 1.0 | 4 |
| 2019 | 30 | 33 | 58 | 1.1 | 5 |
| 2018 | 30 | 30 | 64 | 1.0 | 1 |
| 2017 | 30 | 26 | 53 | 0.9 | 0 |
| 2016 | 29 | 29 | 83 | 1.0 | 2 |
| 2015 | 30 | 30 | 70 | 1.0 | 2 |
| 2014 | 30 | 36 | 79 | 1.2 | 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.