School admissions in Barrow-in-Furness
How heavily each school was applied to for September 2026 entry, from the applications and offers every admissions authority reports to the DfE. 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.
Reception places, September 2026
20 schools. 3 received more first preferences than they had places.
| School | First preferences per place | Places | Cutoff distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yarlside Academy | 1.34 | 29 | not published |
| Dane Ghyll Community Primary School and Nursery | 1.32 | 28 | 0.5 miles |
| Chetwynde School | 1.07 | 30 | 1.5 miles |
| Barrow Island Community Primary School | 1.00 | 19 | not published |
| Brisbane Park Infant School | 1.00 | 30 | not published |
| Newton Village Academy | 1.00 | 10 | not published |
| Ormsgill Nursery and Primary School | 1.00 | 10 | not published |
| Ramsden Infant School | 1.00 | 10 | not published |
| Roose School | 1.00 | 30 | 2 miles |
| Sacred Heart Catholic Primary School, Barrow | 1.00 | 10 | not published |
| South Walney Infant and Nursery School | 1.00 | 32 | not published |
| St Columba's School | 1.00 | 21 | not published |
| St George's CofE School | 1.00 | 20 | not published |
| Vickerstown School | 1.00 | 15 | not published |
| Newbarns Primary and Nursery School | 0.92 | 48 | not published |
| Victoria Infant and Nursery School | 0.91 | 58 | 2 miles |
| St Pius X Catholic Primary School, Barrow | 0.91 | 22 | not published |
| Cambridge Primary School | 0.89 | 18 | not published |
| Parkside Academy | 0.89 | 27 | not published |
| Holy Family Catholic Primary School | 0.86 | 29 | 1472 m (≈0.91 mi) |
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
4 schools. 2 received more first preferences than they had places.
| School | First preferences per place | Places | Cutoff distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chetwynde School | 2.13 | 30 | 1 miles |
| Furness Academy | 1.02 | 258 | not published |
| Walney Academy | 0.92 | 59 | not published |
| St Bernards Catholic High School, Barrow | 0.79 | 123 | 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.