Secondary school National Offer Day is a tense time for many families and unfortunately not all children will receive the school allocation they wished for.
Families only have a few weeks left until the application deadline too, with applications needing to be submitted by October 31 if their child is to have the best chance of landing an offer from their first choice. The outcome to be revealed on national offers day - which will fall on March 2 next year.
Amid the current buzz of attending open days and browsing the latest league tables, some parents are likely curious about their child’s chances of getting into the school they want. Just like with primary schools, the odds are generally pretty good. But with just 83.5% of children nationwide getting an offer from their first choice of secondary for the current 2025/26 school year, some will inevitably miss out.
The latest available Department For Education figures show which Newcastle Secondary schools were the hardest to get into in September 2025 so take a look at the 11 toughest schools below.
1. Excelsior Academy
152 pupils put this school as their first choice and all first choice offers were handed out which is a success rate of 100% | Google
2. Studio West
68 pupils put this school as their first choice and all first choice offers were handed out which is a success rate of 100% | Google
3. Benfield School
61 pupils put this school as their first choice and all first choice offers were handed out which is a success rate of 100% | Google
4. Kenton School
174 pupils put this school as their first choice and all first choice offers were handed out which is a success rate of 100% | Google