The Downs 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 2025 entry, 244 families put The Downs School as their first choice and 419 named it as one of their preferences, for 201 places offered. That is 1.2 first choices for every place. 54 families who put it first were not offered a place there.
Demand has been fairly steady: 237 first choices in 2020, against 244 in 2025.
29% of applications came from families living in another council area.
Across West Berkshire, 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 West Berkshire lodged 58 appeals against secondary school offers; 48 reached a hearing and 6 succeeded (12.5% 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 201 | 244 | 419 | 1.2 | 54 |
| 2024 | 205 | 259 | 546 | 1.3 | 63 |
| 2023 | 205 | 234 | 421 | 1.1 | 41 |
| 2022 | 206 | 250 | 460 | 1.2 | 48 |
| 2021 | 208 | 262 | 429 | 1.3 | 57 |
| 2020 | 207 | 237 | 413 | 1.1 | 36 |
| 2019 | 207 | 249 | 411 | 1.2 | 47 |
| 2018 | 207 | 223 | 340 | 1.1 | 27 |
| 2017 | 175 | 249 | 363 | 1.4 | 75 |
| 2016 | 177 | 231 | 379 | 1.3 | 61 |
| 2015 | 176 | 247 | 382 | 1.4 | 76 |
| 2014 | 177 | 213 | 345 | 1.2 | 41 |
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.