Darnhall Primary School
Community school in Winsford, CW7 1JL, taking ages 2 to 11, 440 on roll.
Homes you looked at
Each measured from its postcode's centre against the 0.68 miles Cheshire West and Chester published for 2025/26, as the checker measures.
Opened on this device and kept on it only: just their postcodes are sent, to this site, to measure them.
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Will an address get in?
In 2025/26, the furthest child offered a place lived 0.68 miles away.
Applying for September 2027? Primary applications close 15 January 2027; offers on 16 April 2027.
How this compares: every Cheshire West and Chester school's distance, tightest first →
The circle is 0.68 miles, the distance the school admitted from in 2025/26.
How to read this
Most English schools do not have a catchment area. When Darnhall 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: 2025/26, from Cheshire West and Chester. With two or more, the map can draw any of them.
Source: Cheshire West and Chester, published admission distances, 2025/26
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 Cheshire West and Chester, 22 of 70 secondary appeals succeeded in 2025 (31.4%; England 19.9%), counted for all the council's schools together. How every council compares.
The distance as a picture
What kind of school this is
| Religious character | No religious character |
| Sixth form | Does not have a sixth form |
| How full | 440 pupils in 405 places (109% full, over capacity) |
| Local authority | Cheshire West and Chester |
Department for Education register (GIAS).
How the school is doing
| Ofsted | Good, inspected 28 November 2023 |
| Meeting the expected standard | 49.0% in reading, writing and maths (2024/25) |
| Year | Meeting the expected standard |
|---|---|
| 2024/25 | 49.0% |
| 2023/24 | 59.0% |
| 2022/23 | 54.0% |
Ofsted, and the Department for Education's published performance data.
Who goes to Darnhall Primary School
| Girls and boys | 49.1% girls, 50.9% boys |
| English as an additional language | 2.0% of pupils |
| Free school meals | 35.9% of pupils eligible |
DfE school census, most recent published year.
Getting to Darnhall Primary School by bus
Best-served stop: Bedford Rise, 0.2 mi away, with 1.0 buses an hour on weekday daytimes; first bus 06:08, last 19:36.
Every stop within 600 m
| Stop | From the school | Weekday daytime, an hour | Evening | Sunday | Routes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bedford Rise | 0.1 mi | 0.8 | 0.2 | 0.6 | 31 |
| Bedford Rise | 0.2 mi | 1.0 | 0.2 | 0.6 | 31 |
| Nightingale Court | 0.2 mi | 0.8 | 0.2 | 0.6 | 31 |
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 Darnhall Primary School against the independent sector? Every fee-paying school around CW7: ages, selection, and how full each one is → What it costs to live at CW7 1JL, 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 Darnhall Primary School?
Darnhall 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 2025/26 lived 0.68 miles away, per Cheshire West and Chester.
How close do I need to live to get a place at Darnhall Primary School?
Nobody can say in advance, and anyone who does is guessing. 0.68 miles was enough in 2025/26, and at 109% 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 Darnhall 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 Cheshire West and Chester school's distance
All Cheshire West and Chester schools with a published admission distance, tightest first →
How school admissions actually work, and what the distance means →
Put Darnhall Primary School's figure on your own site
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Admission distance published by Cheshire West and Chester. 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.