School admissions in Accrington

How heavily each school was applied to for September 2026 entry, from the applications and offers every admissions authority reports to the DfE. 15 of these schools also have a published admissions cutoff distance. Sorted by first preferences per place. We don't invent rankings: the order is arithmetic on a published figure, not a view about which school is better.

Accrington in figures

For Reception places in September 2026, families named the 25 schools in Accrington first 679 times for 673 places: 1.01 first choices per place, against 1.00 across the Lancashire authority's 472 schools. 7 of the 25 had more first choices than places. For 2026 entry, 4 schools here gave their last places on distance, from 0.40 miles (Accrington Hyndburn Park Primary School) to 3.00 miles (Accrington Huncoat Primary School).

For Year 7 places in September 2026, families named the 5 schools in Accrington first 841 times for 830 places: 1.01 first choices per place, against 1.01 across the Lancashire authority's 80 schools. 3 of the 5 had more first choices than places. For 2026 entry, 2 schools here gave their last places on distance, from 1.30 miles (The Hollins) to 1.70 miles (Accrington Academy).

Totals for the schools listed on this page. Applications and offers on national offer day, DfE; last-offer distances as the council published them.

Reception places, September 2026

25 schools. 7 received more first preferences than they had places.

School	First preferences per place	Places	Cutoff distance
Accrington St John with St Augustine Church of England Primary SchoolAccrington	1.53	30	not published
St Oswald's Roman Catholic Primary School, AccringtonAccrington	1.53	19	not published
Clayton-le-Moors All Saints' Church of England Primary SchoolAccrington	1.33	30	not published
Oswaldtwistle Hippings Methodist Voluntary Controlled Primary SchoolAccrington	1.33	30	not published
St John's Stonefold CofE Primary SchoolAccrington	1.30	20	not published
Accrington Woodnook Primary SchoolAccrington	1.10	30	0.4 miles 2026
Accrington Hyndburn Park Primary SchoolAccrington	1.02	59	0.4 miles 2026
Green Haworth Church of England Primary SchoolAccrington	1.00	6	not published
St Mary's Roman Catholic Primary School, Clayton-le-MoorsAccrington	1.00	10	not published
St Mary's Roman Catholic Primary School, OswaldtwistleAccrington	0.97	39	not published
Oswaldtwistle Moor End Primary SchoolAccrington	0.97	29	1.9 miles 2026
Accrington Huncoat Primary SchoolAccrington	0.96	28	3 miles 2026
Sacred Heart Roman Catholic Primary School, ChurchAccrington	0.96	24	not published
Accrington Spring Hill Community Primary SchoolAccrington	0.95	40	not published
Oswaldtwistle St Andrew's Church of England Primary SchoolAccrington	0.93	27	not published
Clayton-le-Moors Mount Pleasant Primary SchoolAccrington	0.92	37	not published
St Nicholas Church of England Primary SchoolAccrington	0.91	23	not published
Accrington Benjamin Hargreaves Church of England Primary SchoolAccrington	0.88	16	not published
Oswaldtwistle St Paul's Church of England Primary SchoolAccrington	0.85	13	not published
Accrington Peel Park Primary SchoolAccrington	0.85	71	not published
Baxenden St John's Church of England Primary SchoolAccrington	0.83	30	not published
Altham St James Church of England Primary SchoolAccrington	0.82	11	not published
Accrington St Mary Magdalen's Church of England Primary SchoolAccrington	0.78	27	not published
St Anne's and St Joseph's RC Primary School, A Voluntary AcademyAccrington	0.75	12	not published
St Peter's CofE Primary SchoolAccrington	0.50	12	not published

First preferences per place is the number of families naming the school first, divided by its published admission number. Above 1.00 means more first choices than places. It is not a ranking and not a measure of quality: a popular school can be easy to get into and a quiet one hard, because places are allocated by each school's own criteria, siblings and faith and banding first, with distance often the last tie-breaker. Applications and offers on national offer day, DfE.

Year 7 places, September 2026

5 schools. 3 received more first preferences than they had places.

School	First preferences per place	Places	Cutoff distance
Mount Carmel Roman Catholic High School, HyndburnAccrington	1.31	160	not published
Accrington St Christopher's Church of England High SchoolAccrington	1.29	190	not published
The HollinsAccrington	1.01	152	1.3 miles 2026
Accrington AcademyAccrington	0.83	199	1.7 miles 2026
RhyddingsAccrington	0.53	129	not published