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Penwortham Primary School

Community school in London, SW16 6RJ, taking ages 3 to 11, 675 on roll.

Outstanding Ofsted, Sep 2024
0.31 mi Admitted from, 2024/25
99% Full
72.0% Met the expected standard, 2024/25

Will an address get in?

In 2024/25, the furthest child offered a place lived 0.31 miles away.

Applying for September 2027? Primary applications close 15 January 2027; offers on 16 April 2027.

The circle is 0.31 miles, the distance the school admitted from in 2024/25.

This is not a catchment area. 0.31 miles was last year's outcome, not a boundary and not a promise.
How to read this

Most English schools do not have a catchment area. When Penwortham Primary School is oversubscribed, places go outward from the school until they run out, so the distance moves each year with how many families applied and where they lived.

Distances are measured from the postcode's centre, not a front door; a postcode covers a few houses. Siblings, looked-after children come before distance, so a school can fill before distance counts at all.

Real admission areas are not circular: the circle is the distance, not a boundary.

The address on the closing date is the one the council uses. How admissions work.

One published year so far: 2024/25, from Wandsworth. With two or more, the map can draw any of them.

Source: Wandsworth, published admission distances, 2024/25

Two schools, both in reach

Two children, or a first and second preference? Add a second school to see where both are in reach, cheapest districts first. Only a school with a published distance can be added.

If the answer is no, you can appeal. In Wandsworth, 5 of 70 secondary appeals succeeded in 2025 (7.1%; England 19.9%), counted for all the council's schools together. How every council compares.

Other schools nearby with a published distance

The closest schools to Penwortham Primary School that also have a council-published admission distance, nearest first.

SchoolPhaseAdmitted fromAway
Immanuel and St Andrew Church of England Primary School Both in reach Primary 0.43 mi 2024/25 0.7 mi
Lonesome Primary School Both in reach Primary 0.25 mi 0.9 mi
St Andrew's Catholic Primary School Both in reach Primary 2.1 mi 2024/25 0.9 mi
St Boniface RC Primary School Both in reach Primary 0.3 mi 2024/25 0.9 mi
Rutherford House School Both in reach Primary 0.37 mi 2024/25 1.2 mi
St Mark's Primary School Both in reach Primary 0.51 mi 1.2 mi

The distance as a picture

Penwortham Primary School catchment area map: the 0.31 mile admission distance, 2024/25
Drawn to scale from the published figure. Save the picture, or share this page and this is the card that appears.

What kind of school this is

Religious characterNo religious character
Sixth formDoes not have a sixth form
How full 675 pupils in 685 places (99% full)
Local authorityWandsworth

Department for Education register (GIAS).

How the school is doing

Ofsted Outstanding, inspected 09 September 2024
Meeting the expected standard 72.0% in reading, writing and maths (2024/25)
YearMeeting the expected standard
2024/25 72.0%
2023/24 83.0%
2022/23 74.0%

Ofsted, and the Department for Education's published performance data.

Who goes to Penwortham Primary School

Girls and boys47.7% girls, 52.3% boys
English as an additional language21.9% of pupils
Free school meals15.7% of pupils eligible

DfE school census, most recent published year.

Getting to Penwortham Primary School by bus

Best-served stop: Southcroft Road / Mitcham Lane, 0.2 mi away, with 15.5 buses an hour on weekday daytimes; first bus 00:04, last 00:29.

Every stop within 600 m
StopFrom the schoolWeekday daytime, an hourEveningSundayRoutes
Dahomey Road136 yd13.212.011.8333, 57, 201
Dahomey Road155 yd13.113.012.0333, 57, 201
Mitcham Lane / Southcroft Road0.1 mi13.113.011.9333, 57, 201

These are scheduled departures, not buses observed running. Two stops on opposite sides of a road are two rows.

Source: operators' timetables on the Bus Open Data Service (Department for Transport), week of 8 Sep 2026

The fee-paying alternative

Weighing Penwortham Primary School against the independent sector? Every fee-paying school around SW16: ages, selection, and how full each one is → What it costs to live at SW16 6RJ, by the school: council tax, energy, prices, rent, stamp duty →

Checking the house as well as the school

The full report checks one address against every nearby school, with sold prices, flood risk and crime.

Common questions

What is the catchment area for Penwortham Primary School?

Penwortham Primary School does not have one in the sense most people mean. Like most English schools, an oversubscribed year offers places outward from the school until they run out. The nearest thing to an answer: the furthest child admitted in 2024/25 lived 0.31 miles away, per Wandsworth.

How close do I need to live to get a place at Penwortham Primary School?

Nobody can say in advance, and anyone who does is guessing. 0.31 miles was enough in 2024/25, and at 99% full the school has little slack. The distance moves every year with the number of applications, so treat last year's figure as evidence, not a promise.

Does buying a house near Penwortham Primary School guarantee a place?

No. Admission criteria usually put looked-after children, siblings ahead of distance, so places can be filled before distance is reached. Councils also check that the address is genuinely where the child lives.

Every Wandsworth school's distance

All Wandsworth schools with a published admission distance, tightest first →
How school admissions actually work, and what the distance means →

Put Penwortham Primary School's figure on your own site

A small badge with the published distance that links back here, for a school website, parents' group or forum.

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Penwortham Primary School badge

Admission distance published by Wandsworth. School details from the Department for Education's register, ratings from Ofsted. Read how every figure on this site is sourced on the methodology page. If something here looks wrong, tell us and it goes on the accuracy log.