School admissions in Skelmersdale

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.

Skelmersdale in figures

For Reception places in September 2026, families named the 19 schools in Skelmersdale first 431 times for 425 places: 1.01 first choices per place, against 1.00 across the Lancashire authority's 472 schools. 6 of the 19 had more first choices than places. For 2026 entry, 6 schools here gave their last places on distance, from 0.23 miles (St James' Catholic Primary School, Skelmersdale) to 2.00 miles (Crawford Village 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

19 schools. 6 received more first preferences than they had places.

School	First preferences per place	Places	Cutoff distance
Moorside Community Primary Academy SchoolSkelmersdale	1.37	27	not published
St James' Catholic Primary School, SkelmersdaleSkelmersdale	1.31	29	0.2315 miles 2026
Crawford Village Primary SchoolSkelmersdale	1.30	10	2 miles 2026
Delph Side Community Primary SchoolSkelmersdale	1.14	29	0.6 miles 2026
St Richard's Catholic Primary School, SkelmersdaleSkelmersdale	1.07	30	0.4257 miles 2026
Trinity Church of England/Methodist SchoolSkelmersdale	1.03	29	0.4984 miles 2026
Cobbs Brow SchoolSkelmersdale	1.00	40	0.9047 miles 2026
Hillside Community Primary SchoolSkelmersdale	1.00	14	not published
Little Digmoor Primary SchoolSkelmersdale	1.00	13	not published
St Francis of Assisi Catholic Primary SchoolSkelmersdale	1.00	19	not published
St Thomas the Martyr Voluntary Aided Church of England Primary SchoolSkelmersdale	1.00	23	not published
Upholland Roby Mill CofE Voluntary Aided Primary SchoolSkelmersdale	1.00	5	not published
Crow Orchard Primary SchoolSkelmersdale	0.94	18	not published
Woodland Community Primary SchoolSkelmersdale	0.89	27	not published
St John's Catholic Primary School, SkelmersdaleSkelmersdale	0.87	15	not published
Brookfield Park Primary SchoolSkelmersdale	0.85	20	not published
Bishop Martin Church of England Primary SchoolSkelmersdale	0.83	18	not published
Holland Moor Primary SchoolSkelmersdale	0.83	53	not published
St Edmund's Catholic Primary SchoolSkelmersdale	0.67	6	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.