School admissions in Thornton-Cleveleys
How heavily each school was applied to for September 2026 entry, from the applications and offers every admissions authority reports to the DfE. 4 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.
Thornton-Cleveleys in figures
For Reception places in September 2026, families named the 10 schools in Thornton-Cleveleys first 361 times for 374 places: 0.97 first choices per place. 2 of the 10 had more first choices than places. For 2026 entry, 3 schools here gave their last places on distance, from 0.40 miles (Thornton Primary School) to 1.30 miles (Thornton Cleveleys Baines Endowed Voluntary Controlled 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
10 schools. 2 received more first preferences than they had places.
| School | First preferences per place | Places | Cutoff distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thornton Primary School | 1.42 | 19 | 0.4 miles |
| Northfold Community Primary School | 1.10 | 29 | 1 miles |
| Stanah Primary School | 0.96 | 52 | not published |
| St Teresa's Catholic Primary School | 0.95 | 22 | not published |
| Anchorsholme Primary Academy | 0.95 | 62 | not published |
| Sacred Heart Catholic Primary School, Thornton Cleveleys | 0.92 | 25 | not published |
| Norbreck Primary Academy | 0.92 | 86 | not published |
| Thornton Cleveleys Baines Endowed Voluntary Controlled Primary School | 0.90 | 30 | 1.3 miles |
| Thornton Cleveleys Royles Brook Primary School | 0.88 | 34 | not published |
| Thornton Cleveleys Manor Beach Primary School | 0.87 | 15 | 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.