School admissions in Heywood
How heavily each school was applied to for September 2026 entry, from the applications and offers every admissions authority reports to the DfE. 6 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.
Heywood in figures
For Reception places in September 2026, families named the 8 schools in Heywood first 351 times for 347 places: 1.01 first choices per place, against 0.99 across the Rochdale authority's 67 schools. 4 of the 8 had more first choices than places. For 2026 entry, 3 schools here gave their last places on distance, from 0.38 miles (All Souls Church of England Primary School) to 0.83 miles (Hopwood Community Primary School).
For Year 7 places in September 2026, families named the 3 schools in Heywood first 363 times for 425 places: 0.85 first choices per place, against 0.96 across the Rochdale authority's 13 schools. One of the 3 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
8 schools. 4 received more first preferences than they had places.
| School | First preferences per place | Places | Cutoff distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| All Souls Church of England Primary School | 1.43 | 30 | 0.384 miles |
| St Luke's Church of England Primary School | 1.41 | 59 | 0.48 miles |
| Hopwood Community Primary School | 1.13 | 60 | 0.829 miles |
| St Michael's Church of England Primary School, Bamford | 1.13 | 31 | not published |
| Our Lady & St Paul's RC Primary School, A Voluntary Academy | 0.81 | 21 | not published |
| Harwood Park Primary School | 0.79 | 29 | not published |
| St Joseph's Roman Catholic Primary School Rochdale, a Voluntary Academy | 0.75 | 57 | not published |
| Woodland Community Primary School | 0.65 | 60 | 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
3 schools. 1 received more first preferences than they had places.
| School | First preferences per place | Places |
|---|---|---|
| Holy Family Roman Catholic and Church of England College | 1.27 | 142 |
| Edgar Wood Academy | 0.68 | 76 |
| Newhouse Academy | 0.63 | 207 |
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.