Most sought-after schools in Bury

Ordered by how many families put the school first, for each place it gave out.

This list is sorted by one number: first preferences per place. For each school it is the number of families who named it first, divided by the number of offers it made, in the newest year we hold. A higher number means more families wanted a place than there were places.

This is not a list of the best schools. It does not measure how good a school is, how happy the children are, or how well they do. It also does not tell you whether a child would get a place: that depends on where you live, the year, and the council's rules. It only shows how many people applied.

#	School	First preferences per place	Newest intake	Latest Ofsted
1	Chantlers Primary School Bury, primary	1.78	2026	Not judged (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
2	Sunny Bank Primary School Bury, primary	1.63	2026	Good (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
3	The Elton High School Bury, secondary	1.32	2026	Expected standard (Ofsted report card (current framework))
4	Emmanuel Holcombe Church of England Primary School Bury, primary	1.27	2026	Good (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
5	St Mary's Church of England Aided Primary School, Prestwich Manchester, primary	1.27	2026	Not judged (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
6	Woodhey High School Bury, secondary	1.22	2026	Not judged (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
7	St Joseph and St Bede RC Primary School, a Voluntary Academy Bury, primary	1.16	2026	Good (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
8	Radcliffe Hall Church of England Methodist Primary School Manchester, primary	1.13	2026	Good (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
9	Parrenthorn High School Manchester, secondary	1.10	2026	Good (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
10	St Luke's CofE Primary School Bury, primary	1.10	2026	School remains Good (Ofsted ungraded inspection)
11	St Peter's Church of England Primary School Bury, primary	1.07	2026	Needs attention (Ofsted report card (current framework))
12	Mersey Drive Community Primary School Manchester, primary	1.06	2026	Good (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
13	Whitefield Community Primary School Manchester, primary	1.06	2026	Good (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
14	Manchester Mesivta School Prestwich, secondary	1.05	2026	Requires improvement (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
15	Chapelfield Primary School Manchester, primary	1.03	2026	Good (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
16	St Andrew's Church of England Primary School, Radcliffe Manchester, primary	1.03	2026	School remains Good (Ofsted ungraded inspection)
17	St Margaret's Church of England Primary School Manchester, primary	1.03	2026	Standards maintained (Ofsted ungraded inspection)
18	Greenmount Primary School Bury, primary	1.00	2026	Standards maintained (Ofsted ungraded inspection)
19	Holly Mount Roman Catholic Primary School, Bury Bury, primary	1.00	2026	Good (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
20	Ribble Drive Community Primary School Manchester, primary	1.00	2026	Good (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
21	St Bernadette's Roman Catholic Primary School, a Voluntary Academy Manchester, primary	1.00	2026	Good (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
22	St Hilda's Church of England Primary School Manchester, primary	1.00	2026	Good (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
23	Yesoiday Hatorah Girls Academy Manchester, primary	1.00	2025	Outstanding (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
24	Butterstile Primary School Manchester, primary	0.98	2026	Good (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
25	St Mary's Roman Catholic Primary School, A Voluntary Academy Manchester, primary	0.97	2026	School remains Good (Ofsted ungraded inspection)
26	Tottington Primary School Bury, primary	0.97	2026	School remains Good (Ofsted ungraded inspection)
27	Sedgley Park Community Primary School Manchester, primary	0.96	2026	School remains Good (Ofsted ungraded inspection)
28	St John's Church of England Primary School, Radcliffe Bury, primary	0.96	2026	Good (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
29	St Michael's Roman Catholic Primary School, A Voluntary Academy Manchester, primary	0.96	2026	Expected standard (Ofsted report card (current framework))
30	Unsworth Academy Bury, secondary	0.96	2026	Improved significantly (Ofsted ungraded inspection)
31	Cams Lane Primary School Manchester, primary	0.95	2026	School remains Good (Ofsted ungraded inspection)
32	Woodbank Primary School Bury, primary	0.94	2026	School remains Good (Ofsted ungraded inspection)
33	Chesham Primary Academy Bury, primary	0.93	2026	Inadequate (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
34	East Ward Community Primary School Bury, primary	0.93	2026	Expected standard (Ofsted report card (current framework))
35	Gorsefield Primary School Manchester, primary	0.93	2026	School remains Good (Ofsted ungraded inspection)
36	Park View Primary School Manchester, primary	0.93	2026	School remains Good (Ofsted ungraded inspection)
37	St Thomas Church of England Primary School Bury, primary	0.93	2026	Good (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
38	All Saints Church of England Primary School, Stand Manchester, primary	0.92	2026	School remains Good (Ofsted ungraded inspection)
39	Christ Church CofE Primary School Bury, primary	0.92	2026	Good (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
40	Higher Lane Primary School Manchester, primary	0.92	2026	Expected standard (Ofsted report card (current framework))
41	Philips High School Manchester, secondary	0.92	2026	Requires improvement (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
42	Heaton Park Primary School Manchester, primary	0.91	2026	School remains Good (Ofsted ungraded inspection)
43	Old Hall Primary School Bury, primary	0.91	2026	School remains Good (Ofsted ungraded inspection)
44	St John with St Mark CofE Primary School Bury, primary	0.91	2026	School remains Good (Ofsted ungraded inspection)
45	Hazel Wood High School Bury, secondary	0.90	2026	Good (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
46	Our Lady of Grace RC Primary School Manchester, primary	0.89	2026	School remains Good (Ofsted ungraded inspection)
47	Springside Primary School Bury, primary	0.88	2026	Not judged (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
48	St Monica's RC High School, a Voluntary Academy Manchester, secondary	0.88	2026	Not judged (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
49	Wesley Methodist Primary School Manchester, primary	0.88	2026	School remains Good (Ofsted ungraded inspection)
50	St Joseph's Roman Catholic Primary School Ramsbottom, a Voluntary Academy Bury, primary	0.87	2026	Good (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
51	Unsworth Primary School Bury, primary	0.87	2026	School remains Good (Ofsted ungraded inspection)
52	Bury Church of England High School Bury, secondary	0.85	2026	Expected standard (Ofsted report card (current framework))
53	Hazlehurst Primary Academy Bury, primary	0.84	2026	Inadequate (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
54	Lowercroft Primary School Bury, primary	0.83	2026	Standards maintained (Ofsted ungraded inspection)
55	Summerseat Methodist Primary School Bury, primary	0.83	2026	Good (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
56	Elton Community Primary School Bury, primary	0.79	2026	School remains Good (Ofsted ungraded inspection)
57	St Gabriel's RC High School, a Voluntary Academy Bury, secondary	0.79	2026	Good (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
58	Holy Trinity Primary School Bury, primary	0.77	2026	Good (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
59	St Mary's Church of England Primary School, Hawkshaw Bolton Road, Hawkshaw, Bury, primary	0.77	2026	Not judged (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
60	The Heys School Manchester, secondary	0.76	2026	Good (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
61	St Andrew's Church of England Primary School, Ramsbottom Bury, primary	0.75	2026	Expected standard (Ofsted report card (current framework))
62	Greenhill Primary School Bury, primary	0.73	2026	School remains Good (Ofsted ungraded inspection)
63	Radcliffe Primary School Manchester, primary	0.73	2026	Good (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
64	Hollins Grundy Primary School Bury, primary	0.71	2026	School remains Good (Ofsted ungraded inspection)
65	St Paul's Church of England Primary School Bury, primary	0.71	2026	Requires improvement (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
66	Tottington High School Bury, secondary	0.59	2026	Requires improvement (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
67	St Stephen's Church of England Primary School Bury, primary	0.53	2026	Requires improvement (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))

Figures from the Department for Education, applications and offers. 67 schools in Bury have a published per-place figure. Schools with too few places for the figure to mean anything are left off. All schools in Bury · How we compare schools.