Schools in Chester
Chester has 57 schools in the catchment.school database, covering 40 primaries and 7 secondaries across the Cheshire West and Chester unitary authority. Admissions are administered by Cheshire West and Chester Council, which publishes its Composite Prospectus annually in September. Twenty-one schools in Chester are faith schools - Church of England and Roman Catholic - with supplementary information forms and separate ranking criteria.
Secondary admissions in Chester include The Bishop of Chester Church of England High School, Queen's Park High School and Christleton High School. Cheshire West and Chester operates straight-line distance as the primary tiebreaker at non-faith community schools. Chester's proximity to the Welsh border means families in postcode districts near Flint or Wrexham should check whether cross-border preferences are valid under the reciprocal arrangement. The Composite Prospectus gives last-offered distances from the previous year; popular town-centre primaries can close under 0.8 miles.
School demand in Chester
Across the 50 schools in Chester with published capacity data, the average fill rate is 89%. 9 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.
21 schools in Chester have a religious character, so faith criteria sit alongside catchment distance in their admissions policies.
19 of the schools in Chester are academies that set their own admissions criteria independently of Cheshire West and Chester, so check each school's policy directly rather than assuming the council default applies.
26 of the schools in Chester have a current Ofsted rating, of which 20 are rated Good or Outstanding. Demand and catchment distance tend to be tightest at the highest-rated schools.
Primary schools in Chester: 6 oversubscribed (40)
Newton Primary School
Primary · Community school
Chester · CH2 2LA
J H Godwin Primary School
Primary · Community school
Chester · CH1 5JG
Mickle Trafford Village School
Primary · Community school
Chester · CH2 4EF
Huntington Community Primary School
Primary · Community school
Chester · CH3 6EA
Upton Westlea Primary School
Primary · Community school
Chester · CH2 1QJ
Waverton Community Primary School
Primary · Community school
Chester · CH3 7QT
Farndon Primary School
Primary · Community school
Chester · CH3 6QP
Ashton Hayes Primary School
Primary · Community school
Chester · CH3 8AB
Christleton Primary School
Primary · Community school
Chester · CH3 7AY
Cherry Grove Primary School
Primary · Community school
Chester · CH3 5EG
Dee Point Primary School
Primary · Community school
Chester · CH1 5NF
Elton Primary School
Primary · Community school
Chester · CH2 4LT
Barrow CofE Primary School
Primary · Voluntary controlled school
Chester · CH3 7HW
Guilden Sutton CofE Primary School
Primary · Voluntary controlled school
Chester · CH3 7ES
St Clare's Catholic Primary School
Primary · Voluntary aided school
Chester · CH4 8HX
Eccleston CofE Primary School
Primary · Voluntary aided school
Chester · CH4 9HD
Saighton Church of England Primary School & Pre-School
Primary · Voluntary aided school
Chester · CH3 6EG
St Werburgh's and St Columba's Catholic Primary School
Primary · Voluntary aided school
Chester · CH2 3AD
St Theresa's Catholic Primary School
Primary · Voluntary aided school
Chester · CH1 5UU
Highfield Community Primary School
Primary · Community school
Chester · CH1 5LD
The Arches Community Primary School
Primary · Community school
Chester · CH1 5EZ
Saughall All Saints Church of England Primary School
Primary · Voluntary controlled school
Chester · CH1 6EP
Chester Blue Coat Church of England Primary School
Primary · Voluntary aided school
Chester · CH1 4HG
St Martin's Academy Chester
Primary · Free schools
Chester · CH2 3NG
Boughton Heath Academy
Primary · Academy converter
Chester · CH3 5RW
Mill View Primary School
Primary · Academy converter
Chester · CH2 1HB
Upton Heath CofE Primary School
Primary · Academy converter
Chester · CH2 1ED
Clutton Church of England Primary School
Primary · Academy converter
Chester · CH3 9ER
The Grosvenor Park Church of England Academy
Primary · Free schools
Chester · CH1 1QP
Acresfield Academy
Primary · Academy converter
Chester · CH2 1LJ
Tarvin Primary School
Primary · Academy converter
Chester · CH3 8LS
Belgrave Primary School
Primary · Academy converter
Chester · CH4 7QS
St Oswald's CofE Primary School
Primary · Academy converter
Chester · CH1 6LG
Dodleston CofE Primary School
Primary · Academy converter
Chester · CH4 9NG
Lache Primary School
Primary · Academy converter
Chester · CH4 8HX
Huxley CofE Primary School
Primary · Academy sponsor led
Chester · CH3 9BH
Overleigh St Mary's Church of England Primary School
Primary · Academy converter
Chester · CH4 7HS
Oldfield Primary School
Primary · Academy converter
Chester · CH3 5LB
Hoole Church of England Primary School
Primary · Academy converter
Chester · CH2 3HB
Capenhurst CofE Primary School
Primary · Academy converter
Chester · CH1 6HE
Secondary Schools in Chester (7)
Blacon High School, A Specialist Sports College
Secondary · Foundation school
Chester · CH1 5JH
Upton-by-Chester High School
Secondary · Foundation school
Chester · CH2 1NN
The Bishops' Blue Coat Church of England High School
Secondary · Academy converter
Chester · CH3 5XF
Christleton High School
Secondary · Academy converter
Chester · CH3 7AD
The Catholic High School, Chester
Secondary · Academy converter
Chester · CH4 7HS
Queen's Park High School
Secondary · Academy sponsor led
Chester · CH4 7AE
Chester International School
Secondary · Studio schools
Chester · CH4 7AE
Other Schools in Chester (10)
The Hammond
Not applicable · Other independent school
Chester · CH2 4ES
Abbey Gate College
Not applicable · Other independent school
Chester · CH3 6EN
The King's School
Not applicable · Other independent school
Chester · CH4 7QL
The Queen's School
Not applicable · Other independent school
Chester · CH1 2NN
Dee Banks School
Not applicable · Community special school
Chester · CH3 5UX
Dorin Park School & Specialist SEN College
Not applicable · Community special school
Chester · CH2 1HD
iMap Centre
Not applicable · Other independent special school
Chester · CH3 7JA
University of Chester
Not applicable · Higher education institutions
Chester · CH1 4BJ
Ancora House School
Not applicable · Pupil referral unit
Chester · CH2 1BQ
Saltney Wood Memorial C.P. School
Not applicable · Welsh establishment
Chester · CH4 8LN
Catchment area boundaries for schools in Chester are set by Cheshire West and Chester and updated each year. The "last distance offered", how far the furthest successful applicant lived, changes annually based on the number of applications received.