What schools serve Bury?

There are 57 schools in Bury, Bury, including Hoyle Nursery School, Fairfield Community Primary School, Chantlers Primary School, Lowercroft Primary School, Holcombe Brook 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 Bury?

Bury has 40 primary schools and 7 secondary schools. There are also 10 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 Bury?

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

Who sets catchment area boundaries for schools in Bury?

Catchment area boundaries for schools in Bury are set by Bury 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.

Schools in Bury

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

Bury in Greater Manchester has 57 schools in the catchment.school database, with 40 primaries and 7 secondaries. Admissions are coordinated by Bury Council, which publishes its Composite Prospectus annually in September. Twenty-three schools in Bury are faith schools - a high proportion, mainly Roman Catholic and Church of England - each with separate oversubscription criteria requiring supplementary information forms.

Secondary admissions in Bury include Bury Grammar Schools (selective, independent), Woodhey High School, and Elton High School. The Bury Grammar Schools are independent and not part of the state admissions round, but publicly funded academy secondaries in Bury use straight-line distance as the primary tiebreaker after sibling and looked-after children priorities. Bury participates in the Greater Manchester coordinated secondary scheme; families should submit preferences through the Bury portal before October 31. Oversubscribed primaries in Radcliffe and Ramsbottom have closed their catchments within one mile in recent years.

School demand in Bury

Across the 51 schools in Bury with published capacity data, the average fill rate is 94%. 18 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.

23 schools in Bury have a religious character, so faith criteria sit alongside catchment distance in their admissions policies.

31 of the schools in Bury are academies that set their own admissions criteria independently of Bury, so check each school's policy directly rather than assuming the council default applies.

26 of the schools in Bury have a current Ofsted rating, of which 18 are rated Good or Outstanding. Demand and catchment distance tend to be tightest at the highest-rated schools.

Primary schools in Bury: 11 oversubscribed (40)

Fairfield Community Primary School

Primary · Community school

Bury · BL9 7SD

Ages 2-11 256 pupils Capacity 249

Chantlers Primary School

Primary · Community school

Bury · BL8 2SF

Ages 3-11 305 pupils Capacity 310

Lowercroft Primary School

Primary · Community school

Bury · BL8 2TS

Ages 4-11 226 pupils Capacity 230

Holcombe Brook Primary School

Primary · Community school

Bury · BL0 9TA

Ages 5-11 263 pupils Capacity 280

Hollins Grundy Primary School

Primary · Community school

Bury · BL9 8AY

Ages 4-11 205 pupils Capacity 210

St Peter's Church of England Primary School

Primary · Voluntary controlled school

Bury · BL9 9PW

Ages 3-11 243 pupils Capacity 258

St Andrew's Church of England Primary School, Ramsbottom

Primary · Voluntary controlled school

Bury · BL0 9JD

Ages 4-11 197 pupils Capacity 300