Schools
Schools, catchments and admissions
School Catchment Areas
Admission priority by home address
A school catchment area is a boundary used to prioritise admission when a school is oversubscribed. Each admission authority sets and publishes its own criteria; the local authority coordinates the offers. Many English schools use no catchment at all, ranking applicants by straight-line distance instead. Welsh authorities more often keep catchment; Scotland and Northern Ireland run different systems.
School Inspection Ratings (Ofsted)
Published grades for education quality
An inspection rating is a published grade for the quality of education at a school. Ofsted inspects in England, Estyn in Wales, and the Education and Training Inspectorate in Northern Ireland. Scotland is inspected by His Majesty's Inspectorate of Education, independent since 2025. Since 10 November 2025 Ofsted has published a report card grading several areas, not one overall grade.