Catchment Area Checker
Enter your UK postcode to find schools nearby with Ofsted ratings, admission demand, and straight-line distance. Free, no signup required.
How UK school catchment works
Most state schools in England allocate places by priority order — children in care first, then siblings already at the school, then often faith criteria, and finally distance from home to school. When a school is oversubscribed, the "last admitted distance" can shrink dramatically year on year.
Classpot shows you straight-line distance from your postcode and the school's applications-to-places ratio so you can see at a glance which schools are likely to be competitive. Each individual school's admissions policy on its website is the definitive source.
Tip: for primary schools, the practical catchment in popular areas is often well under half a mile. For secondary, faith schools, grammars, and partial-selection schools, distance is often a secondary criterion — so a wider area can still apply.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a school catchment area in the UK?
A catchment area describes the geographic zone from which a school typically admits pupils. For most state schools, places are allocated using a combination of priority criteria — siblings already at the school, looked-after children, faith requirements (for religious schools), and distance from the school. There is no single legal definition of "catchment" — each school's admissions criteria are set by its admission authority.
How accurate is the distance shown here?
We show straight-line distance from your postcode to each school. Most local authorities measure distance differently — some use walking distance, some use straight-line ("crow flies"), and some use a specific routing algorithm. Always check the individual school's admissions policy for the exact method.
Does being close to a school guarantee a place?
No. Distance is only one of several admissions criteria. Faith requirements, sibling priority, looked-after children, and selection (for grammar schools) all take precedence over distance. An oversubscribed school may not admit pupils from beyond a fraction of a mile, even when total catchment is shown as wider.
What does "oversubscribed" mean?
A school is oversubscribed when there are more applications than available places. The oversubscription ratio (applications per place) gives a sense of demand: 1.5+ means competitive, 3+ very competitive, 5+ extremely competitive. We base this on the Department for Education's national applications and offers data.
Is this data official?
School locations are from GIAS (Department for Education). Oversubscription data is from the DfE national admissions statistics. Ofsted ratings are from the Ofsted inspection register. Distance is calculated by Classpot from postcode coordinates.