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St Michael's Church of England Primary School

Academy converter in Ferryhill, DL17 9AL, taking ages 2 to 11, 125 on roll.

Outstanding Ofsted, Feb 2024
2.1 mi Admitted from, latest published year
104% Full, over capacity
67.0% Met the expected standard, 2024/25

Will an address get in?

In the latest published round, the furthest child offered a place lived 2.1 miles away.

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

The circle is 2.1 miles, the distance the school admitted from in the latest published year.

St Michael's Church of England Primary School: 2.1 miles Sedgefield Primary School: 1.14 miles, published by County Durham

This is not a catchment area. 2.1 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 St Michael's Church of England 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 and faith criteria 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.

Source: County Durham, published admission distances

Where St Michael's Church of England Primary School and Sedgefield Primary School are both in reach

Both distances are drawn on the map above. Sedgefield Primary School admitted from 1.14 miles in the latest published year, published by County Durham. Its own page has the rest of its figures.

No postcode district has its centre inside both distances. The two schools admit from 2.1 and 1.14 miles, and the ground those circles share holds no district centre, which is a fact about where the centres fall rather than about any one address. The map above shows both, and the postcode checker answers for both.

Sign up to save both schools and be told when either council republishes the distance these answers rest on.

Drop Sedgefield Primary School and go back to one school.

If the answer is no, you can appeal. In County Durham, 45 of 166 secondary appeals succeeded in 2025 (27.1%; 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 St Michael's Church of England Primary School that also have a council-published admission distance, nearest first.

SchoolPhaseAdmitted fromAway
Sedgefield Hardwick Primary Academy Both in reach Primary 0.57 mi 2.0 mi
Sedgefield Community College Both in reach Secondary 5.0 mi 2.2 mi
Sedgefield Primary School Both in reach Primary 1.14 mi 2.3 mi

The distance as a picture

St Michael's Church of England Primary School catchment area map: the 2.1 mile admission distance
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 characterChurch of England
Sixth formDoes not have a sixth form
How full 125 pupils in 120 places (104% full, over capacity)
TrustONE EXCELLENCE MULTI ACADEMY TRUST
Local authorityCounty Durham

Department for Education register (GIAS).

How the school is doing

Ofsted Outstanding, inspected 15 February 2024. Ungraded inspection, February 2024: school remains Outstanding
Meeting the expected standard 67.0% in reading, writing and maths (2024/25)
YearMeeting the expected standard
2024/25 67.0%
2023/24 75.0%
2022/23 87.0%

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

Who goes to St Michael's Church of England Primary School

Girls and boys48.8% girls, 51.2% boys
English as an additional language0.8% of pupils
Free school meals14.4% of pupils eligible

DfE school census, most recent published year.

Getting to St Michael's Church of England Primary School by bus

Best-served stop: Cross Keys, 127 yd away, with 0.8 buses an hour on weekday daytimes; first bus 07:26, last 21:09.

Every stop within 600 m
StopFrom the schoolWeekday daytime, an hourEveningSundayRoutes
Cross Keys127 yd0.80.80.0113
Front Street0.1 mi0.80.50.0113
Cross Keys0.1 mi0.80.50.0113

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 St Michael's Church of England Primary School against the independent sector? Every fee-paying school around DL17: ages, selection, and how full each one is → What it costs to live at DL17 9AL, 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 St Michael's Church of England Primary School?

St Michael's Church of England 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 the latest published year lived 2.1 miles away, per County Durham.

How close do I need to live to get a place at St Michael's Church of England Primary School?

Nobody can say in advance, and anyone who does is guessing. 2.1 miles was enough in the latest published year, and at 104% 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 St Michael's Church of England Primary School guarantee a place?

No. Admission criteria usually put looked-after children, siblings and faith criteria 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 County Durham school's distance

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

Put St Michael's Church of England 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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St Michael's Church of England Primary School badge

Admission distance published by County Durham. 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.