The Blue Coat CofE 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, 611 families put The Blue Coat CofE School as their first choice and 1624 named it as one of their preferences, for 232 places offered. That is 2.6 first choices for every place. 383 families who put it first were not offered a place there.
Demand has been fairly steady: 638 first choices in 2021, against 611 in 2026.
18% of applications came from families living in another council area.
Across Oldham, 75% of families were offered their first-choice secondary school for 2026 entry, and 95% were offered one of the schools they named.
In 2025, families in Oldham lodged 277 appeals against secondary school offers; 248 reached a hearing and 14 succeeded (5.6% 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 | 232 | 611 | 1624 | 2.6 | 383 |
| 2025 | 227 | 597 | 1605 | 2.6 | 375 |
| 2024 | 229 | 578 | 1547 | 2.5 | 357 |
| 2023 | 234 | 505 | 1393 | 2.2 | 275 |
| 2022 | 236 | 654 | 1433 | 2.8 | 418 |
| 2021 | 241 | 638 | 1460 | 2.6 | 402 |
| 2020 | 241 | 683 | 1511 | 2.8 | 446 |
| 2019 | 234 | 615 | 1449 | 2.6 | 386 |
| 2018 | 245 | 654 | 1464 | 2.7 | 417 |
| 2017 | 244 | 664 | 1373 | 2.7 | 424 |
| 2016 | 248 | 519 | 1160 | 2.1 | 274 |
| 2015 | 241 | 498 | 1137 | 2.1 | 261 |
| 2014 | 240 | 421 | 950 | 1.8 | 187 |
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.