Surrey local authority: school places and applications
81% of families in Surrey local authority were offered their first-choice secondary school for September 2026, against 84% across England. 90% got their first-choice primary (England: 92%). Surrey local authority is responsible for 509 schools in South East.
Reception applications and offers in Surrey local authority
Families applying through Surrey local authority for a primary school place, by the September the children start. The council tells the DfE how many families were offered their first choice, one of their top three, or no school at all.
| Starting | Applications | First choice | England | One of top three | No offer | Offered a school in another council |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 2026 | 11,426 | 89.8% | 92.4% | 98.1% | 0.0% | 3.5% |
| September 2025 | 12,004 | 88.4% | 92.6% | 97.6% | 0.0% | 3.3% |
| September 2024 | 11,564 | 90.0% | 93.2% | 98.4% | 0.0% | 3.0% |
| September 2023 | 12,125 | 89.2% | 92.5% | 97.7% | 0.0% | 2.7% |
| September 2022 | 12,298 | 88.7% | 92.2% | 97.7% | 0.0% | 3.0% |
| September 2021 | 12,208 | 89.4% | 91.8% | 98.1% | 0.0% | 2.5% |
| September 2020 | 12,813 | 85.7% | 90.2% | 96.1% | 0.1% | 2.4% |
| September 2019 | 12,722 | 87.1% | 90.6% | 96.6% | 0.0% | 2.1% |
Year 7 applications and offers in Surrey local authority
Families applying through Surrey local authority for a secondary school place, by the September the children start. The council tells the DfE how many families were offered their first choice, one of their top three, or no school at all.
| Starting | Applications | First choice | England | One of top three | No offer | Offered a school in another council |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 2026 | 11,986 | 81.3% | 83.6% | 94.1% | 0.0% | 6.8% |
| September 2025 | 12,278 | 80.6% | 83.5% | 93.2% | 0.0% | 6.7% |
| September 2024 | 12,241 | 83.1% | 82.9% | 94.2% | 0.0% | 6.1% |
| September 2023 | 12,815 | 81.3% | 82.6% | 93.4% | 0.0% | 5.1% |
| September 2022 | 12,749 | 81.4% | 83.3% | 93.2% | 0.0% | 5.7% |
| September 2021 | 12,310 | 80.4% | 81.1% | 92.5% | 0.0% | 5.8% |
| September 2020 | 12,031 | 81.4% | 82.2% | 93.3% | 0.0% | 5.5% |
| September 2019 | 12,427 | 81.1% | 80.9% | 92.1% | 0.0% | 5.8% |
Source: DfE, Primary and secondary school applications and offers. These are council-wide figures; how hard an individual school is to get into is on each school's page.
Primary schools in Surrey local authority compared with England
| Surrey | England average | |
|---|---|---|
| State-funded primary schools | 297 | – |
| Rated Good or better by Ofsted | 80% | 80% |
| Reading, writing and maths at the expected standard (%), average school (2025) | 66.9 | 63.2 |
| Sessions missed to absence (2024/25) | 4.9% | 5.2% |
Secondary schools in Surrey local authority compared with England
| Surrey | England average | |
|---|---|---|
| State-funded secondary schools | 56 | – |
| Rated Good or better by Ofsted | 67% | 72% |
| Attainment 8, average school (2026) | 51.7 | 47.3 |
| Sessions missed to absence (2024/25) | 7.6% | 8.6% |
Averages are across schools, not pupils, so every school counts equally. Ofsted shares use each school's latest published grade.
Expected primary pupil numbers in Surrey local authority
Surrey local authority expects primary numbers to fall by 2.7% between 2024/25 and 2029/30.
| School year | Primary pupils | Reception pupils |
|---|---|---|
| 2024/25 (actual) | 86,955 | 11,733 |
| 2025/26 (forecast) | 87,777 | 12,137 |
| 2026/27 (forecast) | 87,489 | 11,781 |
| 2027/28 (forecast) | 86,479 | 11,342 |
| 2028/29 (forecast) | 85,648 | 11,308 |
| 2029/30 (forecast) | 84,620 | 11,257 |
Expected secondary pupil numbers in Surrey local authority
Surrey local authority expects secondary numbers to rise by 5.2% between 2024/25 and 2031/32.
| School year | Secondary pupils | Year 7 pupils |
|---|---|---|
| 2024/25 (actual) | 67,743 | 11,992 |
| 2025/26 (forecast) | 69,550 | 12,449 |
| 2026/27 (forecast) | 70,240 | 12,577 |
| 2027/28 (forecast) | 70,875 | 12,785 |
| 2028/29 (forecast) | 71,104 | 12,654 |
| 2029/30 (forecast) | 71,524 | 12,756 |
| 2030/31 (forecast) | 71,540 | 12,570 |
| 2031/32 (forecast) | 71,292 | 12,273 |
Source: council forecasts submitted to the DfE school capacity survey (SCAP). Forecasts are estimates and are revised each year.
Schools by town in Surrey local authority
Ranked schools, with Ofsted ratings and results, for each town in Surrey local authority:
- Waverley 73 schools
- Reigate And Banstead 59 schools
- Guildford 57 schools
- Elmbridge 56 schools
- Woking 47 schools
- Tandridge 45 schools
- Mole Valley 41 schools
- Runnymede 39 schools
- Surrey Heath 36 schools
- Spelthorne 32 schools
- Epsom And Ewell 28 schools
- Epsom 27 schools
- Farnham 27 schools
- Camberley 25 schools
- Godalming 24 schools
- Leatherhead 24 schools
- Redhill 18 schools
- Caterham 16 schools
- Dorking 15 schools
- Reigate 14 schools
- Addlestone 12 schools
- Chertsey 12 schools
- Horley 12 schools
- Esher 10 schools
- Cobham 9 schools
- Oxted 9 schools
- Tadworth 9 schools
- Walton-On-Thames 9 schools
- Ashford (Spelthorne) 8 schools
- Banstead 8 schools
- Egham 8 schools
- Haslemere 8 schools
- Sunbury-On-Thames 8 schools
- Weybridge 8 schools
- Cranleigh 7 schools
- Staines 7 schools
- Hindhead 6 schools
- Shepperton 6 schools
- Sutton 1 school