School admissions in Macclesfield

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

29 schools. 5 received more first preferences than they had places.

School	First preferences per place	Places	Cutoff distance
Whirley Primary SchoolMacclesfield	1.65	31	not published
Adlington Primary SchoolMacclesfield	1.29	14	1.908 miles 2015
St John the Evangelist CofE Primary School MacclesfieldMacclesfield	1.20	30	not published
Prestbury CofE Primary SchoolMacclesfield	1.07	46	not published
Hollinhey Primary SchoolMacclesfield	1.03	30	1.063 miles 2017
Ash Grove AcademyMacclesfield	1.00	27	not published
Bollington Cross CofE Primary SchoolMacclesfield	1.00	18	not published
Bosley St Mary's CofE Primary SchoolMacclesfield	1.00	5	not published
Dean Valley Community Primary SchoolMacclesfield	1.00	26	not published
Gawsworth Primary SchoolMacclesfield	1.00	30	2.445 miles 2015
Hurdsfield Community Primary School and NurseryMacclesfield	1.00	10	not published
Pott Shrigley CofE Primary SchoolMacclesfield	1.00	3	not published
Puss Bank School and NurseryMacclesfield	1.00	46	0.587 miles 2014
Rushton CofE First SchoolMacclesfield	1.00	11	not published
Wincle CofE Primary SchoolMacclesfield	1.00	3	not published
Marlborough Primary SchoolMacclesfield	0.97	60	0.627 miles 2014
Upton Priory SchoolMacclesfield	0.97	30	1.238 miles 2014
St Alban's Catholic Primary School, A Voluntary AcademyMacclesfield	0.96	24	not published
Marton and District CofE Aided Primary SchoolMacclesfield	0.93	30	not published
Parkroyal Community SchoolMacclesfield	0.91	57	not published
Chelford CofE Primary SchoolMacclesfield	0.90	10	3.901 miles 2020
Bollinbrook CofE (A) Primary SchoolMacclesfield	0.88	17	not published
Bollington St John's CofE Primary SchoolMacclesfield	0.88	8	not published
Ivy Bank Primary SchoolMacclesfield	0.86	43	1.079 miles 2015
Christ The King Catholic and Church of England Primary SchoolMacclesfield	0.83	6	not published
Mottram St Andrew Primary AcademyMacclesfield	0.81	26	not published
Broken Cross Primary Academy and NurseryMacclesfield	0.80	20	not published
Rainow Primary SchoolMacclesfield	0.80	20	2.12 miles 2024
Nether Alderley Primary SchoolMacclesfield	0.70	10	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
The Fallibroome AcademyMacclesfield	1.16	235
Tytherington SchoolMacclesfield	1.05	229
The Macclesfield AcademyMacclesfield	0.79	92
All Hallows Catholic CollegeMacclesfield	0.73	192