Catchment areas replaced by distance-based admissions in Wokingham from September 2027
Wokingham Borough Council has announced that from September 2027, traditional school catchment areas will be replaced by a straight-line distance model for primary and secondary admissions. Applications will be prioritised based on proximity to the school rather than residence within a designated area.
The way school places are prioritised is changing for admissions from September 2027. For many schools, catchment areas will be replaced by a direct distance model, meaning applications will be prioritised using the straight-line distance from your home address to the school. This change applies if you are applying for a September 2027 place in one of the main transfer rounds: starting school, moving from infant to junior school, or starting secondary school.
For in-year applications where your child would start a new school between September 2026 and July 2027, the current catchment area arrangements still apply for local authority-maintained schools. This means that families seeking urgent in-year places this academic year should still use the existing catchment-area system, but from autumn 2027, the rules change fundamentally.
What this means for families
Traditional catchment areas — where living within a defined boundary guaranteed priority for a particular school — are phasing out. Instead, proximity to school gates becomes the determining factor. This is likely to affect:
- Families with older siblings already at a school (sibling priority rules will still apply, but will be applied after distance criteria)
- Families moving to a new postcode mid-year or planning house moves around school entry
- Parents who have chosen their home based on current catchment maps
If you are planning to settle in Wokingham or are applying for September 2027 places, you should use the online designated area mapping tool available on the council website to check which schools your address will be closest to under the new system. Expat families arriving in 2026 should begin researching proximity to schools now rather than relying on traditional catchment boundaries. The change is part of a wider shift towards more flexible, distance-based admissions across several local authorities.
Sources
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