Best Schools in Lancaster

How many schools are there in Lancaster?

Lancaster has 41 open schools: 26 state primary, 6 state secondary or all-through, 3 independent, 2 special and 4 others.

Source: DfE Get Information About Schools

Which schools in Lancaster are rated Outstanding?

4 schools in Lancaster were rated Outstanding at their most recent graded Ofsted inspection: St Bernadette's Catholic Primary School, Lancaster; Ripley St Thomas Church of England Academy; Stepping Stones School; and The Loyne Specialist School. Counting Good as well, 89% of the 37 graded schools here are rated Good or better. Ofsted stopped giving single-word overall grades in September 2024, so these are the grades from each school's last full inspection.

St Bernadette's Catholic Primary School, LancasterRipley St Thomas Church of England AcademyStepping Stones SchoolThe Loyne Specialist School

Source: Ofsted

Which secondary schools in Lancaster get the best GCSE results?

Of the 5 schools in Lancaster with 2026 GCSE results, the highest Attainment 8 scores - the average grade across a pupil's best eight GCSEs - were at Lancaster Girls' Grammar School (selective grammar), with an Attainment 8 score of 72.1 and 96% passing English and maths at grade 5 or above; Lancaster Royal Grammar School (selective grammar), with an Attainment 8 score of 71.6 and 94% passing English and maths at grade 5 or above; and Ripley St Thomas Church of England Academy, with an Attainment 8 score of 49.1 and 55% passing English and maths at grade 5 or above. Selective schools admit by ability, so their raw results are not a like-for-like comparison with comprehensives. Progress 8, the DfE's value-added measure, was not published for 2026.

Lancaster Girls' Grammar SchoolLancaster Royal Grammar SchoolRipley St Thomas Church of England Academy

Source: DfE school performance data

Which primary schools in Lancaster have the best SATs results?

Of the 24 primary schools in Lancaster with 2025 Key Stage 2 results, the highest shares of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading and maths were at Austwick Church of England VA Primary School (100% in reading, 100% in maths); Cawthorne's Endowed School (100% in reading, 100% in maths); and St Bernadette's Catholic Primary School, Lancaster (93% in reading, 97% in maths). Small schools can swing a long way from one year to the next, because each pupil is a large share of the result.

Austwick Church of England VA Primary SchoolCawthorne's Endowed SchoolSt Bernadette's Catholic Primary School, Lancaster

Source: DfE school performance data

Are there grammar schools in Lancaster?

Yes. Lancaster Girls' Grammar School and Lancaster Royal Grammar School are state grammar schools in Lancaster. Grammar schools admit pupils by ability through an entrance test, usually sat at the start of Year 6.

Lancaster Girls' Grammar SchoolLancaster Royal Grammar School

Source: DfE Get Information About Schools

Do schools in Lancaster have catchment areas?

Most state schools in Lancaster have no fixed catchment boundary. When a school is oversubscribed, the council allocates places on its published criteria - usually looked-after children first, then siblings, then home-to-school distance - so the practical cut-off moves each year. Each school's page here shows an estimate of its catchment radius.

How do I apply for a school place in Lancaster?

Apply to your council - Lancashire or North Yorkshire, depending on your address - through its coordinated admissions process, even for academies and faith schools. In England the closing date is 31 October for secondary places and 15 January for primary places, in the year before your child starts. Independent schools run their own admissions, so apply to those directly.