School admissions in Dewsbury
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
16 schools. 3 received more first preferences than they had places.
| School | First preferences per place | Places | Cutoff distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Carlton Junior and Infant School | 2.43 | 30 | 568.97 m (≈0.35 mi) |
| Pentland Infant and Nursery School | 1.20 | 30 | 1236.9 m (≈0.77 mi) |
| St John’s CE Primary School | 1.07 | 29 | 582.07 m (≈0.36 mi) |
| Diamond Wood Community Academy | 1.00 | 89 | not published |
| Orchard Primary Academy | 1.00 | 37 | not published |
| Overthorpe CofE Academy | 1.00 | 18 | not published |
| Thornhill Junior and Infant School | 0.98 | 44 | not published |
| Shaw Cross Infant and Nursery School | 0.97 | 60 | 1191.88 m (≈0.74 mi) |
| St Joseph's Catholic Primary Academy | 0.97 | 30 | not published |
| Savile Town Church of England Voluntary Controlled Infant and Nursery School | 0.96 | 26 | not published |
| Thornhill Lees Church of England Voluntary Controlled Infant and Nursery School | 0.94 | 65 | not published |
| Boothroyd Primary Academy | 0.94 | 81 | not published |
| Eastborough Academy | 0.92 | 25 | not published |
| St Paulinus Catholic Primary Academy | 0.89 | 37 | not published |
| Earlsheaton Infant School | 0.89 | 27 | 619.49 m (≈0.38 mi) |
| Westmoor Primary School | 0.87 | 53 | 166.71 m (≈0.10 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. 1 received more first preferences than they had places.
| School | First preferences per place | Places |
|---|---|---|
| Manor Croft Academy | 1.11 | 203 |
| Thornhill Community Academy, A Share Academy | 0.95 | 172 |
| Westborough High School | 0.75 | 175 |
| St John Fisher Catholic Voluntary Academy | 0.70 | 166 |
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.