Most sought-after schools in Halton

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	Moore Primary School Warrington, primary	1.43	2026	School remains Good (Ofsted ungraded inspection)
2	St Clement's Catholic Primary School Runcorn, primary	1.37	2026	Standards maintained (Ofsted ungraded inspection)
3	Daresbury Primary School Warrington, primary	1.17	2026	Good (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
4	Wade Deacon High School Widnes, secondary	1.15	2026	Outstanding (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
5	Lunts Heath Primary School Widnes, primary	1.14	2026	Not judged (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
6	St Berteline's CofE Primary School Runcorn, primary	1.10	2026	Not judged (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
7	Sandymoor Ormiston Academy Runcorn, secondary	1.07	2026	Good (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
8	Beechwood Primary School Runcorn, primary	1.05	2026	Standards maintained (Ofsted ungraded inspection)
9	All Saints Upton Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School Widnes, primary	1.00	2026	Good (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
10	Astmoor Primary School Runcorn, primary	1.00	2026	Not judged (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
11	Brookvale Primary School Runcorn, primary	1.00	2026	Good (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
12	Ditton Primary School Widnes, primary	1.00	2026	Good (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
13	Halton Lodge Nursery & Primary School Runcorn, primary	1.00	2026	Requires improvement (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
14	Kingsway Primary Academy School Widnes, primary	1.00	2026	Good (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
15	Our Lady Mother of the Saviour Catholic Primary School Runcorn, primary	1.00	2026	Strong standard (Ofsted report card (current framework))
16	Our Lady of Perpetual Succour Catholic Primary School Widnes, primary	1.00	2026	Standards maintained (Ofsted ungraded inspection)
17	Runcorn All Saints CofE Primary School Runcorn, primary	1.00	2026	Not judged (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
18	St Basil's Catholic Primary School Widnes, primary	1.00	2026	Standards maintained (Ofsted ungraded inspection)
19	St Gerard's Catholic Primary and Nursery School Widnes, primary	1.00	2026	Strong standard (Ofsted report card (current framework))
20	St John Fisher Catholic Primary School Widnes, primary	1.00	2026	School remains Good (Ofsted ungraded inspection)
21	St Michael with St Thomas CE Primary School Widnes, primary	1.00	2026	Good (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
22	St Michaels Catholic Primary & Nursery School Widnes, primary	1.00	2026	Good (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
23	Weston Primary School Runcorn, primary	1.00	2026	Good (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
24	Widnes Academy Widnes, primary	1.00	2026	School remains Good (Ofsted ungraded inspection)
25	Woodside Primary School Runcorn, primary	1.00	2026	Good (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
26	Fairfield Primary School Widnes, primary	0.98	2026	School remains Good (Ofsted ungraded inspection)
27	St Bede's Catholic Infant School Widnes, primary	0.98	2026	Outstanding (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
28	The Grange School Runcorn, all through	0.98	2026	Good (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
29	Blessed Carlo Acutis Catholic and Church of England Academy Runcorn, secondary	0.97	2026	Not judged (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
30	Hale Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School Liverpool, primary	0.97	2026	Good (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
31	Oakfield Community Primary School Widnes, primary	0.97	2026	Needs attention (Ofsted report card (current framework))
32	Ormiston Bolingbroke Academy Runcorn, secondary	0.97	2026	Expected standard (Ofsted report card (current framework))
33	The Heath School Runcorn, secondary	0.97	2026	Not judged (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
34	Farnworth Church of England Controlled Primary School Widnes, primary	0.95	2026	Good (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
35	St Martin's Catholic Primary School and Preschool Runcorn, primary	0.95	2026	Expected standard (Ofsted report card (current framework))
36	The Brow Community Primary School Runcorn, primary	0.95	2026	Good (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
37	Castle View Primary School Runcorn, primary	0.94	2026	Good (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
38	St Edward's Catholic Primary School Runcorn, primary	0.94	2026	Not judged (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
39	St Augustine's Catholic Primary School, A Voluntary Academy Runcorn, primary	0.92	2026	Good (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
40	Bridgewater Park Primary School Runcorn, primary	0.91	2026	Expected standard (Ofsted report card (current framework))
41	Saints Peter and Paul Catholic High School Widnes, secondary	0.91	2026	School remains Good (Ofsted ungraded inspection)
42	St Mary's Church of England Primary School Runcorn, primary	0.91	2026	none held
43	Moorfield Primary School Widnes, primary	0.89	2026	Standards maintained (Ofsted ungraded inspection)
44	Ormiston Chadwick Academy Widnes, secondary	0.89	2026	Good (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
45	Gorsewood Primary School Runcorn, primary	0.86	2026	School remains Good (Ofsted ungraded inspection)
46	Hillview Primary School Runcorn, primary	0.86	2026	School remains Good (Ofsted ungraded inspection)
47	Westfield Primary School Runcorn, primary	0.86	2026	Good (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
48	Pewithall School Runcorn, primary	0.85	2026	Not judged (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
49	Murdishaw West Primary and Nursery School Runcorn, primary	0.83	2026	Good (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
50	Victoria Road Primary School Runcorn, primary	0.60	2026	School remains Good (Ofsted ungraded inspection)
51	Windmill Hill Primary School Runcorn, primary	0.40	2026	Good (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))

Figures from the Department for Education, applications and offers. 51 schools in Halton have a published per-place figure. Schools with too few places for the figure to mean anything are left off. All schools in Halton · How we compare schools.