School admissions in Sandbach
How heavily each school was applied to for September 2026 entry, from the applications and offers every admissions authority reports to the DfE. 10 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.
Sandbach in figures
For Reception places in September 2026, families named the 9 schools in Sandbach first 301 times for 303 places: 0.99 first choices per place, against 1.00 across the Cheshire East authority's 121 schools. 2 of the 9 had more first choices than places. For 2025 entry, one school here gave its last places on distance: Elworth CofE Primary School, to 0.37 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
9 schools. 2 received more first preferences than they had places.
| School | First preferences per place | Places | Cutoff distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Elworth CofE Primary School | 1.33 | 60 | 0.37 miles |
| Offley Primary Academy | 1.25 | 60 | 0.787 miles |
| Brereton CofE Primary School | 0.93 | 30 | not published |
| Warmingham CofE Primary School | 0.92 | 12 | not published |
| Smallwood CofE Primary School | 0.86 | 22 | 2.533 miles |
| Elworth Hall Primary School | 0.80 | 30 | 1.062 miles |
| Sandbach Primary Academy | 0.78 | 18 | not published |
| St John's CofE Academy | 0.75 | 16 | not published |
| Wheelock Primary School | 0.69 | 55 | 0.266 miles |
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.