What schools serve Ashton-under-Lyne?

There are 26 schools in Ashton-under-Lyne, Tameside, including The Heys Primary School, Livingstone Primary School, Hurst Knoll St James' Church of England Primary School, Milton St John's CofE Primary School, Micklehurst All Saints CofE Primary School and more. You can view each school's catchment area guidance and admissions policy on catchment.school.

How many primary and secondary schools are in Ashton-under-Lyne?

Ashton-under-Lyne has 20 primary schools and 3 secondary schools. There are also 3 other schools (such as all-through or special schools) in the area. All data is sourced from the Department for Education's GIAS register.

How do I find out if my address is in a school's catchment area in Ashton-under-Lyne?

To check whether your address falls within a school's catchment area in Ashton-under-Lyne, use the postcode search tool at catchment.school. Catchment area boundaries for Ashton-under-Lyne schools are set by Tameside and reviewed each year. You can also consult the school's admissions policy or contact the Tameside admissions team directly for the most up-to-date boundary maps.

Schools in Ashton-under-Lyne

Q: Who sets catchment area boundaries for schools in Ashton-under-Lyne?

Catchment area boundaries for schools in Ashton-under-Lyne are set by Tameside as the admissions authority. Community and voluntary-controlled schools follow the council's published admissions policy, while academies and voluntary-aided schools may set their own. Boundaries are reviewed annually and published each September for the following academic year.

Reviewed by the catchment.school editorial team · Last updated 15 March 2026

Ashton-under-Lyne is Tameside's main town, and its 20 primary schools cover a broad sweep from the town centre out through Hurst and Waterloo. Tameside Council co-ordinates all admissions using a nearest-school criterion for community primaries, with catchment polygons updated annually in the council's School Admissions Policy. Some primaries in the Stamford Street and Curzon Road areas have seen last-offered distances fall below 600 metres in recent years as housing developments increased local demand.

Secondary choice in Ashton centres on three schools, including one that is faith-designated, meaning supplementary forms are required to qualify for faith-based criteria. Tameside publishes its Coordinated Admissions Scheme each year; national offer day for secondary is 1 March. The catchment.school postcode lookup shows catchment boundaries and 2025 last-offered distances for all Ashton schools, helping families gauge their realistic options before the October closing date.

School demand in Ashton-under-Lyne

Across the 21 schools in Ashton-under-Lyne with published capacity data, the average fill rate is 96%. 10 of them are currently at or above their published admission number, and at those schools catchment distance is likely to decide places at the next intake.

14 schools in Ashton-under-Lyne have a religious character, so faith criteria sit alongside catchment distance in their admissions policies.

14 of the schools in Ashton-under-Lyne are academies that set their own admissions criteria independently of Tameside, so check each school's policy directly rather than assuming the council default applies.

11 of the schools in Ashton-under-Lyne have a current Ofsted rating, of which 11 are rated Good or Outstanding. Demand and catchment distance tend to be tightest at the highest-rated schools.

Primary schools in Ashton-under-Lyne: 8 oversubscribed (20)

The Heys Primary School

Primary · Community school

Ashton-under-Lyne · OL6 9NS

Ages 3-11 235 pupils Capacity 210

Livingstone Primary School

Primary · Community school

Ashton-under-Lyne · OL5 0AP

Ages 3-11 224 pupils Capacity 240

Hurst Knoll St James' Church of England Primary School

Primary · Voluntary controlled school

Ashton-under-Lyne · OL6 8JS

Ages 4-11 195 pupils Capacity 210

Milton St John's CofE Primary School

Primary · Voluntary controlled school

Ashton-under-Lyne · OL5 0BN

Ages 3-11 217 pupils Capacity 210

Micklehurst All Saints CofE Primary School

Primary · Voluntary controlled school

Ashton-under-Lyne · OL5 9DR

Ages 3-11 214 pupils Capacity 240