Cold Norton Primary School
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Community school in Chelmsford, CM3 6JE, taking ages 4 to 11, 157 on roll.
Will an address get in?
In the 2025/26 round, the furthest-away child offered a place at Cold Norton Primary School lived 2.543 miles away, according to Essex. Put a postcode in and it is measured against that distance.
Applying for September 2027? Primary applications close on 15 January 2027, with offers on 16 April 2027. The address on the deadline is the one the council uses. How it works.
The circle is 2.543 miles, the distance the school admitted from in 2025/26. Real admission areas are not circular: this is the distance, not a boundary.
What kind of school this is
| Religious character | No religious character |
| Sixth form | Does not have a sixth form |
| How full | 157 pupils in 147 places (107% full, over capacity) |
| Local authority | Essex |
Department for Education register (GIAS).
How the school is doing
| Ofsted | Good, inspected 07 May 2024 |
| Meeting the expected standard | 70.0% in reading, writing and maths (2024/25) |
| Year | Meeting the expected standard |
|---|---|
| 2024/25 | 70.0% |
| 2023/24 | 78.0% |
| 2022/23 | 87.0% |
Ofsted, and the Department for Education's published performance data.
Who goes to Cold Norton Primary School
| Girls and boys | 51.0% girls, 49.0% boys |
| English as an additional language | 0.0% of pupils |
| Free school meals | 7.6% of pupils eligible |
DfE school census, most recent published year.
The fee-paying alternative
Weighing Cold Norton Primary School against the independent sector? Every fee-paying school around CM3: ages, selection, and how full each one is →
Checking the house as well as the school
The full report measures the distance from every nearby school to one address, alongside sold prices, flood risk, crime and the other checks on the same house.
Common questions
What is the catchment area for Cold Norton Primary School?
Cold Norton 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 2.543 miles away, per Essex.
How close do I need to live to get a place at Cold Norton Primary School?
Nobody can say in advance, and anyone who does is guessing. 2.543 miles was enough in 2025/26, and at 107% 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 Cold Norton 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 Essex school's distance
All Essex schools with a published admission distance, tightest first →
How school admissions actually work, and what the distance means →
Admission distance published by Essex. 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.