School admissions in Chester le Street

How heavily each school was applied to for September 2026 entry, from the applications and offers every admissions authority reports to the DfE. 5 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.

Chester le Street in figures

For Reception places in September 2026, families named the 16 schools in Chester le Street first 457 times for 463 places: 0.99 first choices per place. 0 of the 16 had more first choices than places. For 2023 entry, 2 schools here gave their last places on distance, from 0.09 miles (Nettlesworth Primary School) to 1.51 miles (Cestria Primary School).

For Year 7 places in September 2026, families named the 3 schools in Chester le Street first 643 times for 661 places: 0.97 first choices per place. One of the 3 had more first choices than places. For 2026 entry, one school here gave its last places on distance: Park View School, to 3.32 miles.

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

16 schools. 0 received more first preferences than they had places.

School	First preferences per place	Places	Cutoff distance
Bullion Lane Primary SchoolChester le Street	1.00	27	not published
Cestria Primary SchoolChester le Street	1.00	60	1.51 miles 2023
Chester-Le-Street CofE (Controlled) Primary SchoolChester le Street	1.00	27	not published
Lumley Infant and Nursery SchoolChester le Street	1.00	32	not published
Newker Primary SchoolChester le Street	1.00	22	not published
Ouston Primary SchoolChester le Street	1.00	31	not published
Pelton Community Primary SchoolChester le Street	1.00	27	not published
Portobello Primary SchoolChester le Street	1.00	30	not published
Red Rose Primary SchoolChester le Street	1.00	43	2.202 miles 2022
Roseberry Primary and Nursery SchoolChester le Street	1.00	28	not published
St Benet's Catholic Primary School, OustonChester le Street	1.00	21	not published
St Joseph's Catholic Infant School, BirtleyChester le Street	1.00	15	not published
Ravensworth Terrace Primary SchoolChester le Street	0.98	45	not published
St Cuthbert's Catholic Primary School, Chester-Le-StreetChester le Street	0.96	27	not published
Barley Mow Primary SchoolChester le Street	0.87	15	not published
Nettlesworth Primary SchoolChester le Street	0.85	13	0.091 miles 2023

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

3 schools. 1 received more first preferences than they had places.

School	First preferences per place	Places	Cutoff distance
Park View SchoolChester le Street	1.06	235	3.316 miles 2026
Lord Lawson of Beamish AcademyChester le Street	0.96	272	not published
Hermitage AcademyChester le Street	0.86	154	not published