School admissions in Barnsley
How heavily each school was applied to for September 2026 entry, from the applications and offers every admissions authority reports to the DfE. 35 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.
Barnsley in figures
For Reception places in September 2026, families named the 64 schools in Barnsley first 1,967 times for 1,961 places: 1.00 first choices per place. 11 of the 64 had more first choices than places. For 2025 entry, 11 schools here gave their last places on distance, from 0.27 miles (Keresforth Primary School) to 2.17 miles (Cawthorne Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School).
For Year 7 places in September 2026, families named the 9 schools in Barnsley first 1,984 times for 2,030 places: 0.98 first choices per place. 3 of the 9 had more first choices than places. For 2026 entry, 5 schools here gave their last places on distance, from 1.68 miles (Holy Trinity Catholic and Church of England School) to 5.98 miles (Outwood Academy Carlton).
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
64 schools. 11 received more first preferences than they had places.
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
9 schools. 3 received more first preferences than they had places.
| School | First preferences per place | Places | Cutoff distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trinity Academy St. Edwards | 1.45 | 174 | not published |
| Outwood Academy Shafton | 1.08 | 261 | 2.114 miles |
| Holy Trinity Catholic and Church of England School | 1.06 | 84 | 1.682 miles |
| Outwood Academy Carlton | 0.96 | 209 | 5.984 miles |
| Darton Academy | 0.94 | 230 | not published |
| Kirk Balk Academy | 0.93 | 254 | 2.853 miles |
| Horizon Community College | 0.90 | 379 | 4.506 miles |
| Netherwood Academy | 0.84 | 271 | not published |
| Barnsley Academy | 0.82 | 168 | 1.175 miles |
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.