A new school year has officially begun and whilst National Offer Day may feel like a lifetime away, it was a tense time for many families and unfortunately not all children received the school allocation they had wished for.
According to Lancashire County Council, 98 per cent of children were awarded their first-choice primary school for the 2026/2027 academic year but that meant 2 per cent were left disappointed.
The latest available DfE figures show which Lancashire primary schools were the hardest to get into in September 2026 so take a look at the 21 toughest schools below...
We have ordered these schools in ascending order so that the hardest primary schools feature last.
1. Catforth Primary School (21)
10 pupils put this school as their first choice but only 7 first choice offers were handed out which is a success rate of 70% | Google
.jpeg?trim=0,77,0,77&crop=&width=800)
2. Halsall St Cuthbert's Church of England Primary School (20)
36 pupils put this school as their first choice but only 25 first choice offers were handed out which is a success rate of 69.44% | Google Maps
.jpeg?trim=0,114,0,114&crop=&width=800)
3. Salterforth Primary School (19)
22 pupils put this school as their first choice but only 15 first choice offers were handed out which is a success rate of 68.18% | Google Maps
.jpeg?trim=0,53,0,53&crop=&width=800)
4. Poulton-le-Fylde the Breck Primary School (18)
50 pupils put this school as their first choice but only 34 first choice offers were handed out which is a success rate of 68% | Google Maps