England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland
School catchment area map: what does yours actually mean?
A school catchment area map shows where a council expects to draw pupils from, not whether your child gets in. Oversubscription criteria decide that, in practice last year's furthest offered distance. This school catchment checker finds both.
Not a legal term
gov.uk's admissions guidance never defines a catchment area: it tells you to contact your council for the admission criteria
Distance, usually
where a school is oversubscribed the tie-break is normally home-to-school distance, which is why last year's furthest offer matters more than the map
One term minimum
the admission authority must keep a waiting list open for at least the first term of each school year
Question 1
Where do you live?
School admissions are devolved. The body you contact, and the guidance that binds it, differ across the four nations.
Email me this result
We will send you these figures and a link back to them. One email, nothing else unless you tick the box.
What this checks
The 6 things it checks
- Which body publishes the catchment map and the admission criteria where you live
- Whether the school is its own admission authority or the council is
- What a published catchment area does and does not guarantee
- Why last year's furthest distance offered is the number that decides most places
- Waiting lists, and the right to stay on one after accepting elsewhere
- Based on gov.uk school admissions guidance, read on 15 August 2026
Catchment Checker is an information site. It is not affiliated with the Department for Education, any council, school or admission authority, or any other body named here, and nothing on it is legal advice. Admission arrangements, catchment areas and the furthest distance offered change with every admissions round, and the guidance here was read from gov.uk on the date shown. Always confirm the current arrangements with the admission authority before relying on them.
What decides a school place, in the order it actually applies
Last updated
A catchment area map is one input and rarely the deciding one. This is the order the decision is made in, and where the map sits in it.
| Stage | Who decides | What to ask for |
|---|---|---|
| EHC plan naming a school | The local authority, through the plan | Whether the current plan names the school; a named school must give a place |
| Which body is the admission authority | The council for community and voluntary controlled schools; the school itself for academies, free, foundation and voluntary aided | Confirm which, because it decides whose criteria and whose map apply |
| Published admission arrangements | The admission authority, published on the school's website | The oversubscription criteria in order, and how distance is measured |
| The catchment area map | Usually the council, often as a PDF | The map for the correct year group and the correct admissions round |
| Furthest distance offered last round | The admission authority holds it | By year group, for the most recent round; this is the number that decides most contested places |
| Waiting list | The admission authority, usually the school or council | That your child is added; it must be kept open for at least the first term of each school year |
| Appeal | An independent appeal panel | The deadline, and what evidence the panel will consider |
How this was compiled, and how to cite it
Based on the gov.uk school admissions guidance read on 15 August 2026. We publish no distance figures because there is no national scale: the furthest distance offered is specific to one school, one year group and one admissions round, and only the admission authority can give it to you: no catchment area postcode checker, this one included, can. Anyone quoting a national catchment radius is inventing it.
Cite this page
“What decides a school place, in the order it actually applies”, Catchment Checker, https://catchmentchecker.co.uk/ (updated 2026-08-15). Based on the gov.uk school admissions guidance read on 15 August 2026. We publish no distance figures because there is no national scale: the furthest distance offered is specific to one school, one year group and one admissions round, and only the admission authority can give it to you: no catchment area postcode checker, this one included, can. Anyone quoting a national catchment radius is inventing it.
Read next
Every figure sourced and dated.
- How to find the school catchment area map for your postcode
Which body publishes the map where you live, why an academy's may differ from the council's, and what the map does not tell you.
- How school places are actually decided when a school is oversubscribed
Oversubscription criteria in order, why distance is normally the tie-break, and why last year's furthest offer is the number to ask for.
- School waiting lists and appeals: what you are entitled to
The waiting list must stay open for at least the first term, you can stay on it after accepting elsewhere, and appeals go to an independent panel.
The questions we get
Is a school catchment area a legal guarantee of a place?
No. Gov.uk's school admissions guidance does not define a catchment area at all. It says to contact your local council for your area's state-funded schools and their admission criteria. A catchment map shows where a council plans to draw pupils from. The admission authority's published oversubscription criteria decide places.
When do school applications close?
In England, secondary applications close on 31 October and primary on 15 January. Apply through your local council, even for a school in another area. Offers come on 1 March for secondary and 16 April for primary, or the next working day after a weekend or bank holiday. Missing the deadline makes an offer at your chosen schools less likely. (gov.uk, School admissions: how to apply, read 22 October 2026)
How do I find the school catchment area by postcode?
There is no national school catchment area postcode search. Your local council publishes catchment or planning areas for schools where it is the admission authority, often as a PDF or map viewer. An academy, free school, foundation or voluntary aided school sets its own criteria: read its published admission arrangements, as the council's map may not govern it.
Why does the furthest distance offered matter more than the map?
Because an oversubscribed school's criteria must separate applicants, and distance is normally the tie-break. The practical boundary each year is where the last offered place fell, moving with year group size and applicant numbers. Ask the admission authority for that figure by year group for the most recent round.
Who is the admission authority for my child's school?
For community and voluntary controlled schools in England it is the local council. For academies, free schools, foundation and voluntary aided schools it is the school itself. This matters because it determines whose criteria apply, and a faith school's criteria commonly rank worship or church attendance above distance.
Can I stay on a waiting list after accepting another school?
Yes. Gov.uk says you can join a waiting list even after an offer elsewhere, and accept a later offer even if your child has started at another school. The admission authority must keep a waiting list open for at least the first term of each school year.
Does moving house into a catchment area secure a place?
Not by itself. The address used is the one that applies under the admission authority's arrangements at the relevant date, and authorities set rules about which address counts and what evidence they require. Read the published arrangements before relying on a move, and ask the admission authority directly how it treats an address change.
Is there a free school catchment area map and checker?
Yes, both are free. Councils publish catchment or planning area maps at no charge, usually as a postcode search or interactive map on their admissions pages. This school catchment checker is free too: it shows which body publishes your school's map and admission criteria, so you check the catchment area where the decision is made.
Sources
This site's own dataset, every figure quoted from its source and dated:
- The School Applications and Offers carries 24 published figures read from 4 sources' own pages; the 15 published figures given by phase run from 0.70 to 94.90 percent, read 11 November 2026.
Get the number that actually decides it.
To check catchment area boundaries, the map is the easy part. Ask your admission authority for last year's furthest distance offered, by year group, and you will know far more than any catchment overlay can tell you.
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