Schools in Carnforth
Carnforth is a small market town on the edge of the Lake District, administratively within Westmorland and Furness Council following local government reorganisation in 2023. The area is served by 18 schools: 15 primaries spread across surrounding villages including Holme, Nether Kellet, and Bolton-le-Sands, plus a single secondary, Carnforth High School. Council admissions are co-ordinated with preferences due by the October secondary deadline.
Eleven of Carnforth's schools carry a religious character - the majority Church of England village primaries - making this one of the more faith-school-dense rural clusters in the north-west. Eight schools hold a Good or Outstanding Ofsted rating. Four schools are at or above their published admission number. Because Carnforth High School is the sole secondary for a wide rural area, virtually all local pupils apply to the same school; primary places in the village schools can be more constrained by distance.
School demand in Carnforth
Across the 18 schools in Carnforth with published capacity data, the average fill rate is 82%. 4 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.
11 schools in Carnforth have a religious character, so faith criteria sit alongside catchment distance in their admissions policies.
4 of the schools in Carnforth are academies that set their own admissions criteria independently of Westmorland and Furness, so check each school's policy directly rather than assuming the council default applies.
8 of the schools in Carnforth have a current Ofsted rating, of which 8 are rated Good or Outstanding. Demand and catchment distance tend to be tightest at the highest-rated schools.
Primary schools in Carnforth: 4 oversubscribed (15)
Holme Primary School
Primary · Community school
Carnforth · LA6 1QA
St Mary's CofE Primary School
Primary · Voluntary aided school
Carnforth · LA6 2DN
Carnforth Community Primary School
Primary · Community school
Carnforth · LA5 9LQ
Nether Kellet Community Primary School
Primary · Community school
Carnforth · LA6 1HH
Bolton-le-Sands Church of England Primary School
Primary · Voluntary aided school
Carnforth · LA5 8DT
Carnforth Christ Church, Church of England, Voluntary Aided Primary School
Primary · Voluntary aided school
Carnforth · LA5 9LJ
Arkholme Church of England Primary School
Primary · Voluntary aided school
Carnforth · LA6 1AU
Melling St Wilfrid Church of England Primary School
Primary · Voluntary aided school
Carnforth · LA6 2RE
Silverdale St John's Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School
Primary · Voluntary aided school
Carnforth · LA5 0RF
Yealand Church of England Primary School
Primary · Voluntary aided school
Carnforth · LA5 9SU
Over Kellet Wilson's Endowed Church of England Primary School
Primary · Voluntary aided school
Carnforth · LA6 1BN
Ingleton Primary School
Primary · Community school
Carnforth · LA6 3DY
Burton Morewood CofE Primary School
Primary · Academy converter
Carnforth · LA6 1ND
Arnside National CofE School
Primary · Academy converter
Carnforth · LA5 0DW
Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Primary School, Carnforth
Primary · Academy converter
Carnforth · LA5 9LS
Secondary Schools in Carnforth (1)
Other Schools in Carnforth (2)
Catchment area boundaries for schools in Carnforth are set by Westmorland and Furness and updated each year. The "last distance offered", how far the furthest successful applicant lived, changes annually based on the number of applications received.