St Matthew's CofE Primary School, Little Lever: admissions history
How many families applied, how many places there were, and how far the last place went - every year we hold.
For September 2026 entry, 4 families put St Matthew's CofE Primary School, Little Lever as their first choice and 28 named it as one of their preferences, for 12 places offered. It had fewer first-choice applications than places, so in 2026 a family who put it first could expect an offer unless the school's other criteria ruled them out.
First-choice demand has fallen from 31 in 2021 to 4 in 2026, while places went from 30 to 12.
Across Bolton, 89% of families were offered their first-choice primary school for 2026 entry, and 97% were offered one of the schools they named.
In 2025, families in Bolton lodged 234 appeals against primary school offers; 194 reached a hearing and 26 succeeded (13.4% of those heard).
Applications and offers by year
| Entry year | Places offered | First choices | Named at all | First choices per place | First choices not offered |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 12 | 4 | 28 | 0.3 | 0 |
| 2025 | 26 | 14 | 50 | 0.5 | 0 |
| 2024 | 22 | 22 | 46 | 1.0 | 0 |
| 2023 | 29 | 27 | 57 | 0.9 | 0 |
| 2022 | 25 | 25 | 51 | 1.0 | 0 |
| 2021 | 30 | 31 | 73 | 1.0 | 2 |
| 2020 | 30 | 28 | 79 | 0.9 | 2 |
| 2019 | 29 | 26 | 70 | 0.9 | 0 |
| 2018 | 30 | 31 | 75 | 1.0 | 3 |
| 2017 | 30 | 31 | 65 | 1.0 | 2 |
| 2016 | 30 | 32 | 85 | 1.1 | 3 |
| 2015 | 25 | 25 | 67 | 1.0 | 0 |
| 2014 | 30 | 28 | 61 | 0.9 | 0 |
Source: DfE, Primary and secondary school applications and offers (school-level file). "Places offered" is the number of offers made on national offer day, which can differ from the school's published admission number.