Which secondary school in England has the tightest catchment?

On the latest admissions data, Mulberry Stepney Green Mathematics and Computing College in Tower Hamlets had the tightest catchment of any English secondary — its last place went to a family living just 0.06 mi · ~97 m from the school. "Last distance offered" is the distance to the furthest pupil admitted on distance grounds that year, measured the way that council measures it.

Does a tight catchment mean I definitely won’t get a place?

Not necessarily. "Last distance offered" is one year’s outcome, not a fixed boundary — it moves each year with demand, and a bad year can be followed by a wider one. At faith schools the distance applies only to applicants who meet the faith criteria; a family living closer but outside the faith may not be offered a place. Always check the school’s own admissions arrangements.

How is “most oversubscribed” measured?

By first-preference applications per available place (first choices ÷ published admission number). We use first preferences, not total applications across all preference ranks, which overstate demand several-fold. At selective (grammar) schools the ratio is among applicants who passed the entrance test.

Where does this data come from, and why secondary only?

From each school’s published admissions information and official registers, reconciled on School Atlas; every figure passes the same verification gate as the school profile and links to it. We show secondary schools because the tightest primary "catchments" are dominated by small faith schools where distance is a minor tiebreaker — a misleading measure. Distance data is England-only; Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland use different admissions systems.

England's Tightest School Catchments

At the most sought-after English secondary schools, the last pupil offered a place lived just a few hundred metres from the gate. Below are the schools with the smallest catchments in the country — the last distance offered on distance grounds — drawn from official admissions data. Every school links to its profile, where you can see the figure with its source.

0.06 mi

tightest — Mulberry Stepney Green Mathematics and Computing College, Tower Hamlets

secondaries admitting only within a quarter-mile

3.7:1

most first-choice bids per place — St Thomas More Catholic School

How to read this: a tight distance is one year's outcome, not a fixed boundary. Schools tagged Faithadmit on faith criteria first, so their last distance applies to the faith cohort — a nearer family outside the faith may miss out. Schools tagged Selective admit by entrance test, so both their last distance and their oversubscription are measured only among children who already passed it.

Smallest secondary catchments in England

The 50 English secondaries where the last-admitted pupil lived closest — each school's most recent published round.

#	School	Area	Round	Last distance offered
1	Mulberry Stepney Green Mathematics and Computing College	Tower Hamlets	2024-25	0.06 mi · ~97 m
2	All Saints' Catholic Voluntary AcademyFaith	Nottinghamshire	2025-26	0.10 mi · ~161 m
3	The West Bridgford School	Nottinghamshire	2025-26	0.13 mi · ~209 m
4	The Ursuline Academy IlfordFaithSingle-sex	Redbridge	2026-27	0.15 mi · ~241 m
5	St Thomas More Catholic High SchoolFaith	Cheshire East	2026-27	0.16 mi · ~257 m
6	Morpeth School	Tower Hamlets	2024-25	0.17 mi · ~274 m
7	St Thomas More RC CollegeFaith	Tameside	2026-27	0.18 mi · ~290 m
8	Denton Community Academy	Tameside	2026-27	0.18 mi · ~290 m
9	Eden Boys' Leadership Academy, Birmingham EastFaithSingle-sex	Birmingham	2026-27	0.19 mi · ~306 m
10	Avanti House SchoolFaith	Harrow	2025-26	0.20 mi · ~322 m
11	The Crompton House Church of England AcademyFaith	Oldham	2026-27	0.20 mi · ~322 m
12	Claremont High School	Brent	2026-27	0.20 mi · ~322 m
13	St Thomas More Catholic SchoolFaith	Haringey	2026-27	0.22 mi · ~354 m
14	Tauheedul Islam Girls' High SchoolFaithSingle-sex	Blackburn with Darwen	2026-27	0.23 mi · ~370 m
15	The Elizabethan Academy	Nottinghamshire	2025-26	0.26 mi · ~418 m
16	Chantry Academy	Suffolk	2025-26	0.27 mi · ~435 m
17	Wren Academy FinchleyFaith	Barnet	2026-27	0.27 mi · ~435 m
18	All Saints Catholic High SchoolFaith	Knowsley	2026-27	0.28 mi · ~451 m
19	Queen Elizabeth's Academy	Nottinghamshire	2025-26	0.29 mi · ~467 m
20	St Bede's Roman Catholic High School, BlackburnFaith	Blackburn with Darwen	2026-27	0.29 mi · ~467 m
21	St Peter's Church of England Aided SchoolFaith	Devon	2026-27	0.29 mi · ~467 m
22	Ark Academy	Brent	2026-27	0.31 mi · ~499 m
23	St Mary Magdalene AcademyFaith	Islington	2026-27	0.31 mi · ~499 m
24	St Benedict's Catholic CollegeFaith	Essex	2026-27	0.31 mi · ~499 m
25	Graveney School	Wandsworth	2026-27	0.33 mi · ~531 m
26	Eden Girls' Leadership Academy, BirminghamFaithSingle-sex	Birmingham	2026-27	0.34 mi · ~547 m
27	St Andrew's Catholic SchoolFaith	Surrey	2026-27	0.36 mi · ~579 m
28	The Castle School	Somerset	2026-27	0.36 mi · ~579 m
29	Central Foundation Girls' SchoolSingle-sex	Tower Hamlets	2024-25	0.36 mi · ~579 m
30	De La Salle SchoolFaith	Essex	2026-27	0.37 mi · ~595 m
31	St Mary's and St John's CofE SchoolFaith	Barnet	2026-27	0.37 mi · ~595 m
32	St Thomas More Catholic Academy and Sixth Form CollegeFaith	Warwickshire	2026-27	0.39 mi · ~628 m
33	Bishop Milner Catholic CollegeFaith	Dudley	2025-26	0.39 mi · ~628 m
34	Dean Trust Rose Bridge	Wigan	2025-26	0.39 mi · ~628 m
35	Bridge Learning Campus	Bristol	2026-27	0.40 mi · ~644 m
36	Blue Coat Church of England School and Music CollegeFaith	Coventry	2026-27	0.41 mi · ~660 m
37	St Paul's Way Trust School	Tower Hamlets	2024-25	0.42 mi · ~676 m
38	St Patrick's RC High SchoolFaith	Salford	2026-27	0.43 mi · ~692 m
39	St John Fisher Catholic High SchoolFaith	Wigan	2026-27	0.44 mi · ~708 m
40	North Brent School	Brent	2026-27	0.44 mi · ~708 m
41	Litherland High School	Sefton	2025-26	0.44 mi · ~708 m
42	Saint George's Church of England SchoolFaith	Kent	2026-27	0.44 mi · ~708 m
43	Tauheedul Islam Boys' High SchoolFaithSingle-sex	Blackburn with Darwen	2026-27	0.44 mi · ~708 m
44	Hans Price Academy	North Somerset	2026-27	0.45 mi · ~724 m
45	Hasmonean High School for BoysFaithSingle-sex	Barnet	2026-27	0.46 mi · ~740 m
46	Harris Academy Chobham	Newham	2026-27	0.46 mi · ~740 m
47	Norham High School	North Tyneside	2025-26	0.47 mi · ~756 m
48	Alexandra Park School	Haringey	2026-27	0.48 mi · ~772 m
49	Mossley Hollins High School	Tameside	2026-27	0.48 mi · ~772 m
50	Denbigh High School	Luton	2026-27	0.49 mi · ~789 m

Most oversubscribed secondaries

Ranked by first-preference applications per place (first choices ÷ places) — genuine demand, not inflated all-preference totals.

#	School	Area	1st choices	Places	Per place
1	St Thomas More Catholic SchoolFaith	Haringey	195	53	3.7:1
2	Eden Girls' Leadership Academy, BirminghamFaith	Birmingham	432	123	3.5:1
3	Holy Trinity AcademyFaith	Telford and Wrekin	281	84	3.3:1
4	Alexandra Park School	Haringey	498	154	3.2:1
5	Dartford Grammar SchoolSelective	Kent	569	180	3.2:1
6	Liverpool CollegeFaith	Liverpool	255	84	3:1
7	Ark Greenwich Free School	Greenwich	357	120	3:1
8	Eden Boys' Leadership Academy, Birmingham EastFaith	Birmingham	362	122	3:1
9	Hockerill Anglo-European College	Hertfordshire	152	52	2.9:1
10	Landau Forte College	Derby	517	180	2.9:1
11	Brampton Manor Academy	Newham	1,161	420	2.8:1
12	Kendrick SchoolSelective	Reading	351	127	2.8:1
13	King Edward VI Grammar School, ChelmsfordSelective	Essex	412	150	2.7:1
14	Reading SchoolSelective	Reading	400	146	2.7:1
15	Tiffin SchoolSelectiveFaith	Kingston upon Thames	479	180	2.7:1
16	Ark John Keats Academy	Enfield	238	90	2.6:1
17	The Blue Coat CofE SchoolFaith	Oldham	611	232	2.6:1
18	Lady Margaret SchoolFaith	Hammersmith and Fulham	310	118	2.6:1
19	Northampton School for Boys	West Northamptonshire	571	218	2.6:1
20	Greig City AcademyFaith	Haringey	157	60	2.6:1
21	King Edward VI SchoolSelective	Warwickshire	221	87	2.5:1
22	XP School	Doncaster	125	50	2.5:1
23	The Tiffin Girls' SchoolSelective	Kingston upon Thames	445	180	2.5:1
24	The King's (The Cathedral) SchoolFaith	Peterborough	366	150	2.4:1
25	Stratford Girls' Grammar SchoolSelective	Warwickshire	289	120	2.4:1

Methodology & accuracy

Last distance offered is the distance to the furthest pupil a school admitted under its distance criterion, for each school's most recent published admissions round (shown in the Round column). It is one year's outcome, not a boundary or a guarantee — catchments move each year with demand.
The way that distance is measured is the council's, not ours, and it is not always a straight line. Most admission authorities measure straight-line (radial) distance, but a substantial minority measure the shortest walking route, and a few measure by road — Redbridge, for instance, uses “the shortest measured walking distance as measured by a Geographic Information System”. A walking route is always longer than the straight line between the same two points, so figures are not strictly comparable between authorities. We are working through the authorities' own published tie-breakers to state the method per school; until a school shows one, treat its figure as the council's measure, whatever that is.
Oversubscription is first-preference applications divided by places (published admission number). We use first preferences, not all-preference totals, which overstate demand.
Faith schools admit on faith criteria first, so their last distance applies to the faith cohort. Selective schools admit by entrance test, so both figures are measured among qualified applicants only. Both are tagged, in both tables.
Figures come from official admissions data and each school's published information, and pass the same verification gate as the school profile — un-verified AI-extracted values are excluded. Every number links to the school so you can check it at source.
Covers secondary schools in England. The tightest primary catchments are dominated by small faith schools (a misleading measure); Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland use different admissions systems without a comparable last-distance figure.

Journalists and editors: you're welcome to cite these figures with a link to this page or the individual school. Get in touch at hello@schoolatlas.co.uk for regional breakdowns.

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