Skip to main content

School catchment areas

Skip to contents of guide

Living within a school’s catchment area does not guarantee a place at that school.

Schools are not allowed to reserve places for pupils who may move into the area after it has met its published admission number.

You should not assume that your home is in the catchment area of the school that is nearest to your home address. Some schools do not have a catchment area.

If you are thinking about moving to Bournemouth, Christchurch or Poole, we recommend that you check with our school admissions team about the availability of school places before you buy or rent a property.

You should not rely on information given out by estate agents or any third party about the catchment area school for a particular road or address as being in any way accurate.

If you are in any doubt about the catchment area school for a particular property, contact our school admissions team:

Catchment area maps

Schools not listed below may also operate catchment areas, but hold their own maps or street lists. Other schools may not operate a catchment area at all.

Check the admission policy for any school not listed here, to see whether they have a catchment area or, if not, how they allocate places.

Have you encountered a problem with this page?