St Michael's Catholic School
Academy converter in High Wycombe, HP11 1PW, taking ages 3 to 19, 2,414 on roll.
Homes you looked at
Each measured from its postcode's centre against the 1.61 miles Buckinghamshire published for 2026/27, 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 2026/27, the furthest child offered a place lived 1.61 miles away.
Applying for September 2027? Secondary applications close 31 October 2026; offers on 1 March 2027.
How this compares: every Buckinghamshire school's distance, tightest first →
The circle is 1.61 miles, the distance the school admitted from in 2026/27.
St Michael's Catholic School: 1.61 miles, 2026/27 The Royal Grammar School, High Wycombe: 0.09 miles, 2026/27, published by Buckinghamshire
How to read this
Most English schools do not have a catchment area. When St Michael's Catholic 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 labels on the map are postcode districts whose centre falls inside both circles; each opens the district's guide.
The address on the closing date is the one the council uses. How admissions work.
One published year so far: 2026/27, from Buckinghamshire. With two or more, the map can draw any of them.
Source: Buckinghamshire, published admission distances, 2026/27
Where St Michael's Catholic School and The Royal Grammar School, High Wycombe are both in reach
Both distances are drawn on the map above. The Royal Grammar School, High Wycombe admitted from 0.09 miles in 2026/27, published by Buckinghamshire. Its own page has the rest of its figures.
No postcode district has its centre inside both distances. The two schools admit from 1.61 and 0.09 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 The Royal Grammar School, High Wycombe and go back to one school.
If the answer is no, you can appeal. In Buckinghamshire, 67 of 496 secondary appeals succeeded in 2025 (13.5%; 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 Catholic School that also have a council-published admission distance, nearest first.
| School | Phase | Admitted from | Away |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wycombe High School Both in reach | Secondary | 11.25 mi 2026/27 | 0.3 mi |
| John Hampden Grammar School Both in reach | Secondary | 1.37 mi 2026/27 | 0.4 mi |
| Chepping View Primary Academy Both in reach | Primary | 0.07 mi 2026/27 | 0.9 mi |
| Cressex Community School Both in reach | Secondary | 0.3 mi 2026/27 | 1.3 mi |
| Marsh School Both in reach | Primary | 0.35 mi 2026/27 | 1.5 mi |
| The Royal Grammar School, High Wycombe Both in reach | Secondary | 0.09 mi 2026/27 | 1.7 mi |
The distance as a picture
What kind of school this is
| Admissions | Non-selective |
| Religious character | Roman Catholic |
| Sixth form | Has a sixth form |
| How full | 2,414 pupils in 2,220 places (109% full, over capacity) |
| Trust | ST THOMAS CATHOLIC ACADEMIES TRUST |
| Local authority | Buckinghamshire |
Department for Education register (GIAS).
How the school is doing
| Ofsted | Report card, February 2026: 3 areas strong or exceptional, 5 at the expected standard |
| Report card |
|
| Attainment 8 | 49.1 (2024/25) |
| Meeting the expected standard | 68.0% in reading, writing and maths (2024/25) |
| Year | Progress 8 |
|---|---|
| 2024/25 | not published |
| 2023/24 | +0.33 |
Ofsted, and the Department for Education's published performance data.
Who goes to St Michael's Catholic School
| Girls and boys | 52.0% girls, 48.0% boys |
| English as an additional language | 34.1% of pupils |
| Free school meals | 19.6% of pupils eligible |
DfE school census, most recent published year.
What it costs to live within reach of St Michael's Catholic School
Cheapest district inside the 1.61 miles: HP12, median £350,000. Dearest: HP11, £470,000.
| District | Area | From the school | Median sold price |
|---|---|---|---|
| HP12 | Buckinghamshire | 1.2 mi | £350,000 87 sales |
| HP13 | Buckinghamshire | 1.3 mi | £350,000 111 sales |
| HP11 | Buckinghamshire | 0.6 mi | £470,000 120 sales |
How to read this
The postcode districts whose centre falls inside the 1.61 miles the school admitted from in 2026/27, cheapest first, by the median of real sales around each district's centre. A district is wide, so check the address itself, not the list. Districts without enough recorded sales to rank are not shown.
How this compares across England: what a tight gate costs, school by school.
Source: HM Land Registry sold prices, via each district's area guide
Getting to St Michael's Catholic School by bus
Best-served stop: Marlow Hill Schools, 0.3 mi away, with 4.3 buses an hour on weekday daytimes; first bus 06:42, last 20:52.
Every stop within 600 m
| Stop | From the school | Weekday daytime, an hour | Evening | Sunday | Routes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| St Michael's School | 0.1 mi | 2.2 | 0.8 | 1.0 | 20, 36, 36S, 604 |
| St Michael's School | 0.1 mi | 2.2 | 0.5 | 1.0 | 20, 36, 36S, 604 |
| Marlow Hill Schools | 0.2 mi | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 36S |
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 Catholic School against the independent sector? Every fee-paying school around HP11: ages, selection, and how full each one is → What it costs to live at HP11 1PW, 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 Catholic School?
St Michael's Catholic 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 2026/27 lived 1.61 miles away, per Buckinghamshire.
How close do I need to live to get a place at St Michael's Catholic School?
Nobody can say in advance, and anyone who does is guessing. 1.61 miles was enough in 2026/27, 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 St Michael's Catholic 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 Buckinghamshire school's distance
All Buckinghamshire schools with a published admission distance, tightest first →
How school admissions actually work, and what the distance means →
Put St Michael's Catholic School's figure on your own site
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Admission distance published by Buckinghamshire. 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.