School admissions in St Helens
How heavily each school was applied to for September 2026 entry, from the applications and offers every admissions authority reports to the DfE. 31 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.
St Helens in figures
For Reception places in September 2026, families named the 38 schools in St Helens first 1,296 times for 1,319 places: 0.98 first choices per place, against 1.00 across the St. Helens authority's 53 schools. 11 of the 38 had more first choices than places. For 2025 entry, 10 schools here gave their last places on distance, from 0.37 miles (Grange Valley Primary School) to 2.56 miles (Rainford CofE Primary School).
For Year 7 places in September 2026, families named the 6 schools in St Helens first 1,264 times for 1,215 places: 1.04 first choices per place, against 1.01 across the St. Helens authority's 8 schools. 3 of the 6 had more first choices than places. For 2026 entry, 2 schools here gave their last places on distance, from 0.75 miles (The Sutton Academy) to 0.86 miles (Rainford High 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
38 schools. 11 received more first preferences than they had places.
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
6 schools. 3 received more first preferences than they had places.
| School | First preferences per place | Places | Cutoff distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rainford High School | 1.21 | 258 | 0.862 miles |
| The Sutton Academy | 1.17 | 255 | 0.75 miles |
| De La Salle School | 1.03 | 228 | 1.82 miles |
| Outwood Academy Haydock | 0.91 | 135 | not published |
| Cowley International College | 0.88 | 243 | 2.466 miles |
| St Augustine of Canterbury Catholic Academy | 0.88 | 96 | 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.