What schools serve Nelson?

There are 26 schools in Nelson, Lancashire, including Bradley Nursery School, Walton Lane Nursery School, Woodfield Nursery School, McMillan Nursery School, Barrowford 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 Nelson?

Nelson has 17 primary schools and 2 secondary schools. There are also 7 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 Nelson?

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

Who sets catchment area boundaries for schools in Nelson?

Catchment area boundaries for schools in Nelson are set by Lancashire 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 Nelson

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

Nelson sits in the Pendle district and its 17 primary schools include a mix of community schools administered by Lancashire County Council and voluntary-aided schools - mostly Church of England and Roman Catholic - that manage their own admissions. Lancashire uses nearest-school catchment areas for community primaries, but the high proportion of faith schools in Nelson means that supplementary information forms are often required to qualify for faith criteria.

Secondary provision is centred on two schools serving Nelson, Brierfield and the surrounding villages. Lancashire co-ordinates the secondary round with a closing date in October and offers on National Offer Day (1 March). Because Nelson has a significant proportion of pupils applying to faith schools, parents applying to community secondaries should check that their address falls within the relevant catchment - Lancashire publishes catchment maps on its admissions pages, and catchment.school lists last-offered distances for all Nelson secondaries.

School demand in Nelson

Across the 21 schools in Nelson with published capacity data, the average fill rate is 98%. 8 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.

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

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

8 of the schools in Nelson 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 Nelson: 7 oversubscribed (17)

Barrowford School

Primary · Community school

Nelson · BB9 6EA

Ages 4-11 327 pupils Capacity 420

Bradley Primary School

Primary · Community school

Nelson · BB9 7RF

Ages 4-11 415 pupils Capacity 420

Marsden Community Primary School

Primary · Community school

Nelson · BB9 0BE

Ages 5-11 420 pupils Capacity 420

Lomeshaye Junior School

Primary · Community school

Nelson · BB9 7SY

Ages 7-11 360 pupils Capacity 360

Walverden Primary School

Primary · Community school

Nelson · BB9 0TL

Ages 3-11 451 pupils Capacity 420

Whitefield Infant School and Nursery

Primary · Community school

Nelson · BB9 7HF

Ages 3-7 332 pupils Capacity 348

Roughlee Church of England Primary School

Primary · Voluntary controlled school

Nelson · BB9 6NX

Ages 4-11 51 pupils Capacity 52

Barrowford St Thomas Church of England Primary School

Primary · Voluntary aided school

Nelson · BB9 6QT

Ages 4-11 121 pupils Capacity 119

Nelson St Philip's Church of England Primary School

Primary · Voluntary aided school

Nelson · BB9 9TQ

Ages 4-11 140 pupils Capacity 140

Nelson St Paul's Church of England Primary School

Primary · Voluntary aided school

Nelson · BB9 0PY

Ages 4-11 407 pupils Capacity 420

Holy Saviour Roman Catholic Primary School, Nelson

Primary · Voluntary aided school

Nelson · BB9 8HD

Ages 5-11 204 pupils Capacity 210

Pendle Primary Academy

Primary · Academy sponsor led

Nelson · BB9 5AW

Ages 4-11 423 pupils Capacity 420

Great Marsden St John's Primary School A Church of England Academy

Primary · Academy sponsor led

Nelson · BB9 0NX

Ages 4-11 205 pupils Capacity 210

Castercliff Primary School

Primary · Academy sponsor led

Nelson · BB9 8JJ

Ages 4-11 383 pupils Capacity 420

Blacko Primary School

Primary · Academy converter

Nelson · BB9 6LS

Ages 4-11 101 pupils Capacity 105

Holy Trinity Roman Catholic Primary School, a Voluntary Academy

Primary · Academy converter

Nelson · BB9 5BL

Ages 3-11 122 pupils Capacity 133

St John Southworth RC Primary School, A Voluntary Academy

Primary · Academy converter

Nelson · BB9 0DQ

Ages 5-11 212 pupils Capacity 210

Secondary Schools in Nelson (2)

Pendle Vale College

Secondary · Community school

Nelson · BB9 8LF

Ages 11-16 1042 pupils Capacity 1050

Marsden Heights Community College

Secondary · Academy sponsor led

Nelson · BB9 0PR

Ages 11-16 1048 pupils Capacity 1050

Other Schools in Nelson (7)

Bradley Nursery School

Nursery · Local authority nursery school

Nelson · BB9 7QH

Ages 2-4 188 pupils

Walton Lane Nursery School

Nursery · Local authority nursery school

Nelson · BB9 8BP

Ages 3-5 58 pupils

Woodfield Nursery School

Nursery · Local authority nursery school

Nelson · BB9 5BE

Ages 2-5 111 pupils

McMillan Nursery School

Nursery · Local authority nursery school

Nelson · BB9 9AG

Ages 2-5 90 pupils

East Lancashire Learning Group

All through · Further education

Nelson · BB9 7YT

Ages 16-99

Pendle Community High School & College

Not applicable · Community special school

Nelson · BB9 8LF

Ages 11-19 163 pupils Capacity 136

Al-Ikhlaas Primary School

Not applicable · Other independent school

Nelson · BB9 7SY

Ages 3-11 152 pupils Capacity 160

Catchment area boundaries for schools in Nelson are set by Lancashire and updated each year. The "last distance offered", how far the furthest successful applicant lived, changes annually based on the number of applications received.

Find Lancashire admissions documents → How catchment areas work →

Schools in Nelson

School demand in Nelson

Primary schools in Nelson: 7 oversubscribed (17)

Barrowford School

Bradley Primary School

Marsden Community Primary School

Lomeshaye Junior School

Walverden Primary School

Whitefield Infant School and Nursery

Roughlee Church of England Primary School

Barrowford St Thomas Church of England Primary School

Nelson St Philip's Church of England Primary School

Nelson St Paul's Church of England Primary School

Holy Saviour Roman Catholic Primary School, Nelson

Pendle Primary Academy

Great Marsden St John's Primary School A Church of England Academy

Castercliff Primary School

Blacko Primary School

Holy Trinity Roman Catholic Primary School, a Voluntary Academy

St John Southworth RC Primary School, A Voluntary Academy

Secondary Schools in Nelson (2)

Pendle Vale College

Marsden Heights Community College

Other Schools in Nelson (7)

Bradley Nursery School

Walton Lane Nursery School

Woodfield Nursery School

McMillan Nursery School

East Lancashire Learning Group

Pendle Community High School & College

Al-Ikhlaas Primary School

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