St Mary's Church of England Primary School, Bradford Abbas: 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, 7 families put St Mary's Church of England Primary School, Bradford Abbas as their first choice and 24 named it as one of their preferences, for 7 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 14 in 2021 to 7 in 2026, while places went from 14 to 7.
Across Dorset, 94% 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 Dorset lodged 28 appeals against primary school offers; 20 reached a hearing and 3 succeeded (15% 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 | 7 | 7 | 24 | 1.0 | 0 |
| 2025 | 14 | 13 | 21 | 0.9 | 0 |
| 2024 | 11 | 11 | 26 | 1.0 | 0 |
| 2023 | 11 | 11 | 25 | 1.0 | 0 |
| 2022 | 14 | 13 | 39 | 0.9 | 0 |
| 2021 | 14 | 14 | 32 | 1.0 | 0 |
| 2020 | 13 | 13 | 29 | 1.0 | 0 |
| 2019 | 15 | 12 | 38 | 0.8 | 0 |
| 2018 | 14 | 12 | 34 | 0.9 | 0 |
| 2017 | 12 | 12 | 32 | 1.0 | 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.