Varndean 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, 350 families put Varndean School as their first choice and 1076 named it as one of their preferences, for 279 places offered. That is 1.3 first choices for every place. 96 families who put it first were not offered a place there.
Demand has been fairly steady: 379 first choices in 2021, against 350 in 2026.
Across Brighton and Hove, 83% 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 Brighton and Hove lodged 208 appeals against secondary school offers; 121 reached a hearing and 40 succeeded (33.1% 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 | 279 | 350 | 1076 | 1.3 | 96 |
| 2025 | 285 | 411 | 977 | 1.4 | 142 |
| 2024 | 278 | 435 | 1031 | 1.6 | 163 |
| 2023 | 291 | 401 | 1045 | 1.4 | 117 |
| 2022 | 303 | 436 | 1073 | 1.4 | 140 |
| 2021 | 294 | 379 | 1080 | 1.3 | 89 |
| 2020 | 291 | 293 | 1026 | 1.0 | 37 |
| 2019 | 290 | 294 | 1061 | 1.0 | 52 |
| 2018 | 292 | 347 | 1077 | 1.2 | 75 |
| 2017 | 265 | 299 | 1023 | 1.1 | 76 |
| 2016 | 281 | 216 | 946 | 0.8 | 43 |
| 2015 | 276 | 212 | 920 | 0.8 | 37 |
| 2014 | 270 | 216 | 960 | 0.8 | 51 |
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.