School admissions in Penrith

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

24 schools. 2 received more first preferences than they had places.

School	First preferences per place	Places	Cutoff distance
Plumpton SchoolPENRITH	1.20	15	4 miles 2026
Calthwaite CofE SchoolPenrith	1.17	12	1 miles 2026
Beaconside CofE Primary SchoolPenrith	1.00	49	not published
Brunswick SchoolPenrith	1.00	32	not published
Clifton Primary SchoolPenrith	1.00	8	not published
Crosby Ravensworth CofE SchoolPenrith	1.00	12	not published
Culgaith CofE SchoolPenrith	1.00	5	not published
Greystoke Primary SchoolPenrith	1.00	5	not published
Kirkby Thore SchoolPenrith	1.00	4	not published
Kirkoswald CofE SchoolPenrith	1.00	6	not published
Lazonby C of E Primary SchoolPenrith	1.00	9	not published
Lowther Endowed SchoolPenrith	1.00	4	not published
Milburn SchoolPenrith	1.00	3	not published
Morland Area CofE Primary SchoolPenrith	1.00	5	not published
Orton CofE SchoolPenrith	1.00	8	not published
Penruddock Primary SchoolPenrith	1.00	5	not published
Shap Endowed CofE Primary SchoolPenrith	1.00	9	not published
Skelton SchoolPenrith	1.00	8	not published
Stainton CofE Primary SchoolPenrith	1.00	19	not published
Tebay Primary SchoolPenrith	1.00	4	not published
Temple Sowerby CofE Primary SchoolPenrith	1.00	8	not published
Langwathby CofE Primary SchoolPenrith	0.96	27	6112.73 m (≈3.80 mi) 2025
Yanwath Primary SchoolPenrith	0.96	23	not published
St Catherine's Catholic Primary School, PenrithPENRITH	0.92	13	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.