About Catchment Checker
Find the school catchment area for a postcode, and understand why the map a council publishes is not a promise of a place.
What is on this site
One question, "school catchment area map", answered with a checker that works on the page with no account, 3 guides on the questions around it, a data table you can cite (the figures and their method), and the sources every figure rests on.
- 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.
Reach us
Contact for a question about the site, or enquiries@catchmentchecker.co.uk. The legal terms are on Terms and Privacy.
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.