School admissions in Clitheroe

How heavily each school was applied to for September 2026 entry, from the applications and offers every admissions authority reports to the DfE. 8 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.

Clitheroe in figures

For Reception places in September 2026, families named the 17 schools in Clitheroe first 304 times for 303 places: 1.00 first choices per place, against 1.00 across the Lancashire authority's 472 schools. 2 of the 17 had more first choices than places. For 2026 entry, 3 schools here gave their last places on distance, from 1.00 miles (Edisford Primary School) to 1.40 miles (Clitheroe Pendle Primary School).

For Year 7 places in September 2026, families named the 4 schools in Clitheroe first 825 times for 798 places: 1.03 first choices per place, against 1.01 across the Lancashire authority's 80 schools. 2 of the 4 had more first choices than places.

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

17 schools. 2 received more first preferences than they had places.

School	First preferences per place	Places	Cutoff distance
Barrow URC Primary SchoolClitheroe	1.33	30	not published
Waddington and West Bradford Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary SchoolClitheroe	1.07	28	not published
Bolton by Bowland Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary SchoolClitheroe	1.00	5	not published
Clitheroe Brookside Primary SchoolClitheroe	1.00	8	not published
Edisford Primary SchoolClitheroe	1.00	30	1 miles 2026
Gisburn Primary SchoolClitheroe	1.00	16	not published
Grindleton Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary SchoolClitheroe	1.00	3	not published
Ribblesdale SchoolClitheroe	1.00	24	1 miles 2026
Slaidburn Brennands Endowed Primary SchoolClitheroe	1.00	2	not published
St Joseph's Roman Catholic Primary School, Hurst GreenClitheroe	1.00	14	not published
St Mary's Roman Catholic Primary School, SabdenClitheroe	1.00	5	not published
St Michael and St John's Roman Catholic Primary School, a Voluntary AcademyClitheroe	1.00	10	not published
Thorneyholme Roman Catholic Primary School, Dunsop BridgeClitheroe	1.00	6	not published
Clitheroe Pendle Primary SchoolClitheroe	0.96	48	1.4 miles 2026
Chatburn Church of England Primary SchoolClitheroe	0.94	16	not published
St James' Church of England Primary School, ClitheroeCLITHEROE	0.87	15	not published
Whalley Church of England Primary SchoolClitheroe	0.86	43	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

4 schools. 2 received more first preferences than they had places.

School	First preferences per place	Places
Clitheroe Royal Grammar SchoolClitheroe	1.32	175
Bowland HighClitheroe	1.04	133
Ribblesdale SchoolClitheroe	0.93	276
St Augustine's Roman Catholic High School, a Voluntary AcademyClitheroe	0.93	214