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.
13. Wellfield Methodist and Anglican Church School, Burnley (9)
48 pupils put this school as their first choice but only 30 first choice offers were handed out which is a success rate of 62.5% | Google
14. Barden Primary School (8)
94 pupils put this school as their first choice but only 57 first choice offers were handed out which is a success rate of 60.64% | Google Maps
15. Bickerstaffe CofE Primary School and Nursery (7)
22 pupils put this school as their first choice but only 13 first choice offers were handed out which is a success rate of 59.09% | Google Maps
16. Harris Primary School (6)
46 pupils put this school as their first choice but only 27 first choice offers were handed out which is a success rate of 58.7% | submit