Sheffield secondary schools: These were the hardest schools in Sheffield to get your Y7 child into for 2023

This week (March 1), Steel City pupils and their parents were told which of their three preferences they will be going to for the new academic year this September.

Now, the latest data shows which of Sheffield’s ‘big schools’ offering places for Y7 had to refuse the most applicants, making them the hardest to get into for 2023.

None of Sheffield’s secondary schools listed here had to turn away more children than they have seats in the classroom, in comparison to primary schools, which each year can often have up to three children vying for every seat in the classroom.

A school’s oversubscription rate is determined by how many children it had to turn away in comparison to the number of places it had to offer.

Statistically, the most oversubscribed secondary school in Sheffield was once again Mercia School, in Millhouses, which had to turn away 137 pupils while filling its 180 places. This also means Mercia has one of the smallest intakes in the city. The only school with a smaller Y7 cohort is Oasis Academy Don Valley, who will welcome 160 new students this September.

Comparatively, King Edward VII School had to turn away 107 pupils while filling its 240 places, making it the second most oversubscribed while having a larger cohort.

For the list of which schools in the city are the most oversubscribed, see our gallery below.

Not on our list below are Stocksbridge, Birley, Ecclesfield and Bradfield schools, which it is understood are undersubscribed this year, in that they are starting this year with places still available in their classrooms.

Also not listed here are All Saints and Notre Dame Catholic schools, which the city council could not provide the data for. The Star has contacted both schools and will update the data below when it is available.

Sheffield City Council says 96 per cent of students this academic year received a place at one of their three preferred schools, and 88 percent received their first preference.