Becket Keys Church of England School saw 249 first-place preferences.
Of those 162 were successful – a 65 per cent success rate. There were 176 allocations altogether.
Last year it was the third hardest school to get into in Essex. Almost 93 per cent of first or second preferences were accepted.
Some 16,758 children going into Year 7 this September discovered which school they would be going to last week, with council figures showing that Essex’s hardest school to get into had at least two children apply for every space on offer.
De La Salle Secondary School in Basildon was the most popular and hardest to get into in the county, with 249 children putting the school down as their first-place preference; of those, 129 were successful.
That means that 48 per cent of first place preferences were unsuccessful. There was a total of 141 allocations from the six levels of preference for the school.
MORE NEWS: Person trapped in vehicle after three-car and lorry crash on A12 in Brentwood
The second most popular school was St Benedict Catholic College in Colchester – which was only the sixth most popular last year.
Altogether, 132 first choice applications of a total of 212 were successful. This means that 38 per cent of first-place applicants were unsuccessful.
Just more than 97 per cent of children – more than 19 out of every 20 – are being offered one of their named preferences of secondary schools for the 2025 academic year in the county.
A total of 83.86 per cent are being offered their parents’ first preference this year, with a further 8.72 per cent being offered their second preference.
This means 92.58 per cent have been offered either their parents’ first or second preference.
Councillor Tony Ball, cabinet member for education excellence, lifelong learning and employability at Essex County Council, said: “I am really pleased to see that, once again, we have been able to offer so many pupils their parents’ preferred secondary school place this year.
“Starting secondary school is a hugely important milestone in a child’s life and I hope those embarking on this exciting next step enjoy their last few months at primary and junior school before starting their next academic adventure.”
