Which secondary school in England has the tightest catchment?

For September 2026 entry, North Brent School in Brent is first on this list: its last place offered on distance went to a family living 0.44 mi · ~708 m from the school, and families further away were turned down. The list ranks only English secondaries that admit by distance, where the council published the distance and families were refused; faith, selective, catchment and feeder schools are left out, because their last distance describes one priority group. Distances are measured the way each council measures them.

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.

0.44 mi

tightest — North Brent School, Brent

secondaries admitting only within a quarter-mile

4.3:1

most first-choice bids per place — Seven Kings School

How to read this: a tight distance is one year's outcome, not a fixed boundary. The tightest list is one round, September 2026 entry, and only schools that turned families away and admit by distance: after looked-after children, siblings and similar priorities, places went by distance. Faith, selective, catchment, feeder, banding and ballot schools are left out of it, because their last distance describes one priority group, not how close any family had to live. In the oversubscribed list, schools tagged Faith admit on faith criteria first, and schools tagged Selective admit by entrance test, so their oversubscription is measured only among children who already passed it.

Smallest secondary catchments in England

The 50 English secondaries where places ran out closest to the school for September 2026 entry (national offer day, 2 March 2026). Only schools that turned families away and admit by distance are ranked.

#	School	Area	Round	Last distance offered
1	North Brent School	Brent	2026-27	0.44 mi · ~708 m
2	Hans Price Academy	North Somerset	2026-27	0.45 mi · ~724 m
3	Ark John Keats Academy	Enfield	2026-27	0.54 mi · ~869 m
4	Salendine Nook High School	Kirklees	2026-27	0.55 mi · ~885 m
5	Pinner High School	Harrow	2026-27	0.55 mi · ~885 m
6	Bedford Free School	Bedford	2026-27	0.60 mi · ~966 m
7	Ruislip High School	Hillingdon	2026-27	0.61 mi · ~982 m
8	Sandringham School	Hertfordshire	2026-27	0.63 mi
9	Ark Isaac Newton Academy	Redbridge	2026-27	0.65 mi
10	Harris Academy Sutton	Sutton	2026-27	0.66 mi
11	Ark Greenwich Free School	Greenwich	2026-27	0.66 mi
12	Redden Court School	Havering	2026-27	0.69 mi
13	Orleans Park School	Richmond upon Thames	2026-27	0.69 mi
14	Prendergast Ladywell School	Lewisham	2026-27	0.72 mi
15	Goldington Academy	Bedford	2026-27	0.75 mi
16	Whitmore High School	Harrow	2026-27	0.77 mi
17	The Kingston Academy	Kingston upon Thames	2026-27	0.77 mi
18	Northwood School	Hillingdon	2026-27	0.77 mi
19	Tanfield School	County Durham	2026-27	0.81 mi
20	Bristnall Hall Academy	Sandwell	2026-27	0.82 mi
21	Essa Academy	Bolton	2026-27	0.82 mi
22	Stockland Green School	Birmingham	2026-27	0.82 mi
23	The Sydney Russell School	Barking and Dagenham	2026-27	0.85 mi
24	Bishopshalt School	Hillingdon	2026-27	0.85 mi
25	Nower Hill High School	Harrow	2026-27	0.89 mi
26	Yardleys School	Birmingham	2026-27	0.89 mi
27	Ark Academy	Brent	2026-27	0.89 mi
28	Wellington School	Trafford	2026-27	0.90 mi
29	Walker Riverside Academy	Newcastle upon Tyne	2026-27	0.93 mi
30	Guildford County School	Surrey	2026-27	0.94 mi
31	The Adeyfield Academy	Hertfordshire	2026-27	0.95 mi
32	Ashton-on-Mersey School	Trafford	2026-27	0.97 mi
33	Holyhead School	Birmingham	2026-27	0.97 mi
34	Waverley School	Birmingham	2026-27	0.97 mi
35	The Arthur Terry School	Birmingham	2026-27	0.99 mi
36	Langley Park School for BoysSingle-sex	Bromley	2026-27	1.01 mi
37	Cockburn Laurence Calvert Academy	Leeds	2026-27	1.01 mi
38	Vyners School	Hillingdon	2026-27	1.02 mi
39	Queensmead School	Hillingdon	2026-27	1.02 mi
40	Atherton High School	Wigan	2026-27	1.03 mi
41	Tile Cross Academy	Birmingham	2026-27	1.03 mi
42	Hayes School	Bromley	2026-27	1.06 mi
43	Pleckgate High School	Blackburn with Darwen	2026-27	1.06 mi
44	Forest Hill SchoolSingle-sex	Lewisham	2026-27	1.07 mi
45	Jarrow School	South Tyneside	2026-27	1.08 mi
46	Moorside High School	Salford	2026-27	1.08 mi
47	Lampton Academy	Hounslow	2026-27	1.08 mi
48	King Edward VI Balaam Wood Academy	Birmingham	2026-27	1.09 mi
49	Oasis Academy Sholing	Southampton	2026-27	1.11 mi
50	Turing House School	Richmond upon Thames	2026-27	1.11 mi

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	Seven Kings School	Redbridge	259	60	4.3:1
2	Eden Girls' Leadership Academy, BirminghamFaith	Birmingham	432	124	3.5:1
3	Dartford Grammar SchoolSelective	Kent	569	180	3.2:1
4	Ark Greenwich Free School	Greenwich	357	120	3:1
5	Eden Boys' Leadership Academy, Birmingham EastFaith	Birmingham	362	124	2.9:1
6	Landau Forte College	Derby	517	180	2.9:1
7	Liverpool CollegeFaith	Liverpool	255	90	2.8:1
8	Brampton Manor Academy	Newham	1,161	420	2.8:1
9	Kendrick SchoolSelective	Reading	351	127	2.8:1
10	King Edward VI Grammar School, ChelmsfordSelective	Essex	412	150	2.7:1
11	Reading SchoolSelective	Reading	400	146	2.7:1
12	Woodmansterne School	Lambeth	82	30	2.7:1
13	Dixons Trinity Chapeltown	Leeds	119	44	2.7:1
14	Tiffin SchoolSelectiveFaith	Kingston upon Thames	479	180	2.7:1
15	Ark John Keats Academy	Enfield	238	90	2.6:1
16	Lady Margaret SchoolFaith	Hammersmith and Fulham	310	118	2.6:1
17	King Edward VI SchoolSelective	Warwickshire	221	87	2.5:1
18	The Blue Coat CofE SchoolFaith	Oldham	611	243	2.5:1
19	Wootton Park School	West Northamptonshire	301	120	2.5:1
20	XP School	Doncaster	125	50	2.5:1
21	Northampton School for Boys	West Northamptonshire	571	230	2.5:1
22	The Tiffin Girls' SchoolSelective	Kingston upon Thames	445	180	2.5:1
23	The King's (The Cathedral) SchoolFaith	Peterborough	366	150	2.4:1
24	King Edward VI Camp Hill School for BoysSelective	Birmingham	290	120	2.4:1
25	St Mary Magdalene AcademyFaith	Islington	434	180	2.4:1

Methodology & accuracy

Last distance offered is the distance to the furthest pupil a school admitted under its distance criterion, for September 2026 entry (shown in the Round column). It is one year's outcome, not a boundary or a guarantee — catchments move each year with demand.
Only real cut-offs are ranked. A school is listed only where its own figures show families were refused that year: at a school that offered everyone a place, the furthest distance is just the furthest applicant, not a limit. Schools whose places go first by faith, test, catchment, feeder school, ability band or ballot are left out, because their last distance applies only to the last priority group reached.
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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