Contested schools in Barnsley

These are the Barnsley schools that turned first-choice families away in at least one of the last three years — either because more families named them first than they had places, or because they refused families who named them first anyway. Figures shown are for 2026/27. Demand is not a forecast: an oversubscribed school turns more families away, which is not the same as their appeals succeeding more often.

Appeal success rates for Barnsley

Secondary schools (7)

Each has its own page with a 12-year demand history.

Contested secondary schools in Barnsley, 2026/27
School	Places	First choices	Per place
Trinity Academy St. Edwards	174	253	1.45
Outwood Academy Shafton	261	281	1.08
Holy Trinity Catholic and Church of England School	84	89	1.06
Penistone Grammar School	309	311	1.01
Outwood Academy Carlton	209	200	0.96
Kirk Balk Academy	254	237	0.93
Barnsley Academy	168	138	0.82

Primary schools (27)

Primary schools are listed here as figures rather than pages. Most refusals at the Reception intake are infant class size cases, where a panel can only act on three narrow grounds and fewer than one in ten appeals succeeds — so the honest thing to publish is the data, not a page inviting an appeal.

Contested primary schools in Barnsley, 2026/27
School	Places	First choices	Per place
Gawber Primary School	30	60	2
Lacewood Primary School	25	38	1.52
Keresforth Primary School	29	37	1.28
Mapplewell Primary School	44	54	1.23
Cawthorne Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School	24	29	1.21
Oakwell Rise Primary Academy	29	34	1.17
Summerfields Primary Academy	30	34	1.13
Outwood Primary Academy Darfield	28	31	1.11
Sacred Heart Catholic Primary School	18	20	1.11
The Ellis Church of England Primary School	28	31	1.11
Brierley Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School	29	31	1.07
Ladywood Primary School	29	31	1.07
Gooseacre Primary Academy	50	53	1.06
Birkwood Primary School	59	61	1.03
Athersley South Primary School	37	37	1
Birdwell Primary School	30	30	1
Burton Road Primary School	45	45	1
Parkside Primary Academy	28	28	1
Springvale Primary School	24	24	1
Tankersley St Peter's CofE (Aided) Primary School	23	23	1
Wombwell Park Street Primary School	42	42	1
High View Primary Learning Centre	58	57	0.98
Cherry Dale Primary School	33	32	0.97
Upperwood Academy	33	32	0.97
Thurlstone Primary School	21	20	0.95
The Forest Academy	35	33	0.94
Darton Primary School	38	33	0.87

Department for Education, Primary and secondary school applications and offers, school-level file, 2026/27. Appeal outcomes are not published for individual schools — how we source and calculate the figures.