School admissions in Houghton le Spring
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.
Houghton le Spring in figures
For Reception places in September 2026, families named the 18 schools in Houghton le Spring first 543 times for 549 places: 0.99 first choices per place. 3 of the 18 had more first choices than places. For 2026 entry, 3 schools here gave their last places on distance, from 0.68 miles (Barnwell Academy) to 1.67 miles (Bernard Gilpin Primary School).
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
18 schools. 3 received more first preferences than they had places.
| School | First preferences per place | Places | Cutoff distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Barnwell Academy | 1.60 | 30 | 0.677 miles |
| Dubmire Primary | 1.10 | 60 | 1.134 miles |
| Bernard Gilpin Primary School | 1.05 | 60 | 1.673 miles |
| Easington Lane Primary School | 1.00 | 37 | not published |
| East Rainton Primary School | 1.00 | 12 | not published |
| Hetton Lyons Primary School | 1.00 | 49 | 0.725 miles |
| Hetton Primary School | 1.00 | 21 | not published |
| St Michael's Catholic Primary School, Houghton | 1.00 | 24 | 2.153 miles |
| Woodlea Primary School | 0.96 | 25 | not published |
| Burnside Academy Inspires | 0.95 | 22 | not published |
| Gillas Lane Primary Academy | 0.95 | 21 | not published |
| West Rainton Primary School | 0.94 | 16 | not published |
| Eppleton Academy Primary School | 0.93 | 30 | 0.594 miles |
| Our Lady Queen of Peace Catholic Primary School, Penshaw | 0.89 | 35 | not published |
| Bournmoor Primary School | 0.86 | 7 | not published |
| Shiney Row Primary School | 0.81 | 27 | not published |
| Newbottle Primary Academy | 0.78 | 55 | 1.486 miles |
| New Penshaw Academy | 0.72 | 18 | 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.