St Mary's Catholic College, 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, 160 families put St Mary's Catholic College, A Voluntary Academy as their first choice and 391 named it as one of their preferences, for 168 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 risen from 127 in 2021 to 160 in 2026, while places went from 202 to 168.
Across Wirral, 95% of families were offered their first-choice secondary school for 2026 entry, and 99% were offered one of the schools they named.
In 2025, families in Wirral lodged 587 appeals against secondary school offers; 477 reached a hearing and 107 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 | 168 | 160 | 391 | 1.0 | 0 |
| 2025 | 207 | 197 | 403 | 1.0 | 0 |
| 2024 | 195 | 171 | 383 | 0.9 | 0 |
| 2023 | 221 | 207 | 424 | 0.9 | 2 |
| 2022 | 198 | 153 | 345 | 0.8 | 0 |
| 2021 | 202 | 127 | 323 | 0.6 | 0 |
| 2020 | 207 | 159 | 353 | 0.8 | 0 |
| 2019 | 140 | 110 | 284 | 0.8 | 0 |
| 2018 | 167 | 126 | 312 | 0.8 | 0 |
| 2017 | 157 | 126 | 363 | 0.8 | 0 |
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.