North West local authority
Schools in Lancashire
Search and compare schools in Lancashire with map view, rankings, Ofsted context, performance data and admissions research links. Use this page as a local hub before opening individual school profiles or building a side-by-side comparison.
Lancashire school comparison signals
Metrics use latest available published data where present. Local authority averages can be unavailable when a metric is not published for enough schools in the selected authority.
Search paths for Lancashire
Checked 23 May 2026
Lancashire school admissions for parents
Lancashire County Council publishes separate September 2026 guides for Reception and Year 7, plus in-year admissions, appeals and allocation rules. Lancashire also highlights its equal-preference scheme and asks parents to consider transport, admission policies and any supplementary forms before submitting preferences.
Primary September 2026 round
Primary applications opened on 1 September 2025, closed on 15 January 2026 and offers were issued on 16 April 2026.
Secondary September 2026 round
Secondary Year 7 applications opened on 1 September 2025, closed on 31 October 2025 and offers were issued on 2 March 2026.
Equal preference and late applications
Lancashire says places are not allocated on a first-come, first-served basis. All on-time applications are considered equally, but late applications can reduce the chance of getting a preferred school.
Supplementary forms and admission criteria
The county guides point parents to school admission policies and supplementary information forms. Schools with their own admission authority can have their own criteria and extra paperwork.
In-year and 14-plus routes
Lancashire runs in-year admissions for children changing schools during the school year and also signposts university technical colleges and studio schools for age-14 entry.
Appeals and waiting lists
Appeals and waiting-list guidance are published separately. Lancashire notes that appeal information is issued after offers so waiting lists can operate first.
Official Lancashire links
In-depth guide · Checked May 2026
Lancashire school admissions guide for parents
This guide summarises Lancashire County Council's published school-place pages as available on 23 May 2026 for September 2026 entry. Always re-check the live Lancashire pages before applying.
Executive summary
Lancashire County Council publishes separate guides for Reception and Year 7 admissions, plus in-year moves, appeals and allocation rules. For September 2026 entry, the main deadlines were 15 January 2026 for primary and 31 October 2025 for secondary. Offer days were 16 April 2026 for primary and 2 March 2026 for secondary.
Lancashire emphasises that school places are not offered on a first-come, first-served basis. All on-time applications are considered equally under the equal-preference scheme, but late applications can reduce the chance of getting a preferred school.
Key dates
| Stage | Primary | Secondary |
|---|---|---|
| Applications open | 1 September 2025 | 1 September 2025 |
| On-time closing date | 15 January 2026 | 31 October 2025 |
| Offer day | 16 April 2026 | 2 March 2026 |
What matters in Lancashire
- Lancashire has dedicated pages for how it allocates school places, school appeals and school admission policies. Read those alongside the main application guide.
- Supplementary forms still matter for schools that need them. Lancashire points families to school admission policies and supplementary information separately.
- The county also flags school transport, which can be a practical constraint when ranking schools.
- In-year admissions and age-14 routes such as UTCs and studio schools are published in the same school-places section.
Appeals and next steps
Lancashire says appeal information is issued after offers so waiting lists can operate first. It then publishes separate pages for appeal forms, hearing dates, infant class size appeals and waiting lists.