School admissions in High Peak
How heavily each school was applied to for September 2026 entry, from the applications and offers every admissions authority reports to the DfE. 3 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.
High Peak in figures
For Reception places in September 2026, families named the 11 schools in High Peak first 186 times for 185 places: 1.01 first choices per place, against 1.00 across the Derbyshire authority's 290 schools. 2 of the 11 had more first choices than places. For 2026 entry, one school here gave its last places on distance: New Mills Primary School, to 0.47 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
11 schools. 2 received more first preferences than they had places.
| School | First preferences per place | Places | Cutoff distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| New Mills Primary School | 1.13 | 30 | 0.467 miles |
| Whaley Bridge Primary School | 1.03 | 30 | not published |
| Buxworth Primary School | 1.00 | 12 | not published |
| Chapel-en-le-Frith CofE VC Primary School | 1.00 | 41 | not published |
| Furness Vale Primary and Nursery School | 1.00 | 7 | not published |
| Hague Bar Primary School | 1.00 | 6 | not published |
| Hayfield Primary School | 1.00 | 20 | not published |
| St George's CofE Primary School | 1.00 | 4 | not published |
| Taxal and Fernilee CofE Primary School | 1.00 | 15 | not published |
| St Mary's Catholic Voluntary Academy | 0.82 | 11 | not published |
| Thornsett Primary School (High Peak Federation) | 0.78 | 9 | 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.