School admissions in Bury

How heavily each school was applied to for September 2026 entry, from the applications and offers every admissions authority reports to the DfE. 36 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.

Reception places, September 2026

56 schools. 13 received more first preferences than they had places.

School	First preferences per place	Places	Cutoff distance
Chantlers Primary SchoolBury	1.78	36	0.386 miles 2026
Sunny Bank Primary SchoolBury	1.63	30	1.003 miles 2025
Emmanuel Holcombe Church of England Primary SchoolBury	1.27	15	not published
St Mary's Church of England Aided Primary School, PrestwichManchester	1.27	30	not published
St Joseph and St Bede RC Primary School, a Voluntary AcademyBury	1.16	45	not published
Radcliffe Hall Church of England Methodist Primary SchoolManchester	1.13	30	0.738 miles 2026
St Luke's CofE Primary SchoolBury	1.10	60	0.327 miles 2026
St Peter's Church of England Primary SchoolBury	1.07	30	0.366 miles 2026
Whitefield Community Primary SchoolManchester	1.06	16	not published
Mersey Drive Community Primary SchoolManchester	1.06	17	not published
St Andrew's Church of England Primary School, RadcliffeManchester	1.03	29	not published
St Margaret's Church of England Primary SchoolManchester	1.03	30	1.232 miles 2023
Chapelfield Primary SchoolManchester	1.03	39	2.064 miles 2026
Bury and Whitefield Jewish Primary SchoolBury	1.00	7	not published
Greenmount Primary SchoolBury	1.00	24	1.186 miles 2023
Holly Mount Roman Catholic Primary School, BuryBury	1.00	33	not published
Peel Brow SchoolBury	1.00	8	not published
Ribble Drive Community Primary SchoolManchester	1.00	12	not published
St Bernadette's Roman Catholic Primary School, a Voluntary AcademyManchester	1.00	42	not published
St Hilda's Church of England Primary SchoolManchester	1.00	24	not published
Butterstile Primary SchoolManchester	0.98	41	0.919 miles 2023
St Mary's Roman Catholic Primary School, A Voluntary AcademyManchester	0.97	32	not published
Tottington Primary SchoolBury	0.97	32	1.104 miles 2024
Sedgley Park Community Primary SchoolManchester	0.96	25	not published
St John's Church of England Primary School, RadcliffeBury	0.96	25	not published
St Michael's Roman Catholic Primary School, A Voluntary AcademyManchester	0.96	23	not published
Cams Lane Primary SchoolManchester	0.95	21	1.001 miles 2025
Woodbank Primary SchoolBury	0.94	35	not published
St Thomas Church of England Primary SchoolBury	0.93	59	0.942 miles 2026
East Ward Community Primary SchoolBury	0.93	57	2.048 miles 2024
Chesham Primary AcademyBury	0.93	42	0.486 miles 2023
Gorsefield Primary SchoolManchester	0.93	42	not published
Park View Primary SchoolManchester	0.93	40	0.632 miles 2023
All Saints Church of England Primary School, StandManchester	0.92	13	0.994 miles 2023
Christ Church CofE Primary SchoolBury	0.92	24	not published
Higher Lane Primary SchoolManchester	0.92	59	0.976 miles 2025
Heaton Park Primary SchoolManchester	0.91	47	1.882 miles 2025
Old Hall Primary SchoolBury	0.91	11	not published
St John with St Mark CofE Primary SchoolBury	0.91	43	0.91 miles 2022
Our Lady of Grace RC Primary SchoolManchester	0.89	35	not published
Springside Primary SchoolBury	0.88	34	not published
Wesley Methodist Primary SchoolManchester	0.88	40	0.661 miles 2025
Unsworth Primary SchoolBury	0.87	31	1.287 miles 2026
St Joseph's Roman Catholic Primary School Ramsbottom, a Voluntary AcademyBury	0.87	23	not published
Hazlehurst Primary AcademyBury	0.84	19	0.52 miles 2023
Lowercroft Primary SchoolBury	0.83	30	2.179 miles 2026
Summerseat Methodist Primary SchoolBury	0.83	12	not published
Elton Community Primary SchoolBury	0.79	33	not published
St Mary's Church of England Primary School, HawkshawBolton Road, Hawkshaw, Bury	0.77	13	not published
Holy Trinity Primary SchoolBury	0.77	30	not published
St Andrew's Church of England Primary School, RamsbottomBury	0.75	12	not published
Greenhill Primary SchoolBury	0.73	26	0.491 miles 2025
Radcliffe Primary SchoolManchester	0.73	26	not published
Hollins Grundy Primary SchoolBury	0.71	28	0.794 miles 2023
St Paul's Church of England Primary SchoolBury	0.71	28	not published
St Stephen's Church of England Primary SchoolBury	0.53	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.

Year 7 places, September 2026

13 schools. 4 received more first preferences than they had places.

School	First preferences per place	Places	Cutoff distance
The Elton High SchoolBury	1.32	210	0.871 miles 2026
Woodhey High SchoolBury	1.22	226	1.909 miles 2026
Parrenthorn High SchoolManchester	1.10	210	1.803 miles 2026
Manchester Mesivta SchoolPrestwich	1.05	41	not published
Unsworth AcademyBury	0.96	199	1.273 miles 2024
Philips High SchoolManchester	0.92	180	4.384 miles 2026
Star Radcliffe AcademyRadcliffe	0.91	148	2.535 miles 2026
Hazel Wood High SchoolBury	0.90	113	1.43 miles 2024
St Monica's RC High School, a Voluntary AcademyManchester	0.88	192	not published
Bury Church of England High SchoolBury	0.85	127	not published
St Gabriel's RC High School, a Voluntary AcademyBury	0.79	189	not published
The Heys SchoolManchester	0.76	68	not published
Tottington High SchoolBury	0.59	117	not published