St Philip Howard Catholic 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, 257 families put St Philip Howard Catholic School as their first choice and 593 named it as one of their preferences, for 203 places offered. That is 1.3 first choices for every place. 62 families who put it first were not offered a place there.
Demand has been fairly steady: 251 first choices in 2021, against 257 in 2026.
West Sussex published that the last place offered for 2026 entry went to a family 5446 metres away. The cut-off moves every year with the number of applications.
Across West Sussex, 88% 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 West Sussex lodged 492 appeals against secondary school offers; 353 reached a hearing and 60 succeeded (17% 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 | 257 | 593 | 1.3 | 62 |
| 2025 | 206 | 244 | 613 | 1.2 | 54 |
| 2024 | 181 | 254 | 607 | 1.4 | 77 |
| 2023 | 174 | 258 | 623 | 1.5 | 92 |
| 2022 | 180 | 278 | 680 | 1.5 | 98 |
| 2021 | 177 | 251 | 623 | 1.4 | 79 |
| 2020 | 197 | 268 | 680 | 1.4 | 76 |
| 2019 | 180 | 209 | 624 | 1.2 | 43 |
| 2018 | 177 | 235 | 584 | 1.3 | 60 |
| 2017 | 179 | 207 | 471 | 1.2 | 30 |
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.
Last distance offered
| Entry year | Last place offered | Published by |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 5446 metres | West Sussex |
Figures as each council published them, in the unit it used. The cut-off is not a boundary: it moves every year with the number of applications.