Guide · Parents · All UK nations
How to compare secondary schools near you in the UK
A step-by-step way to find every school within reach of your home, compare them fairly, and work out your real chances of a place.
By the Pyxion Learn team · Checked 1 November 2026
Choosing a secondary school starts with a simple question that is surprisingly hard to answer: which schools could my child actually go to, and how do they compare? Here is a method that works anywhere in the UK, with Pyxion Learn as the worked example.
1. Start from your postcode, not a school’s name
List every school within a realistic travelling distance, not just the ones you’ve heard of. Three miles is a sensible start for secondary schools in towns and cities; widen it in rural areas. On Pyxion Learn, enter your postcode and a radius and you see every school on a map with its distance, free.
2. Narrow by what matters to your family
- Type: grammar, comprehensive, faith, independent.
- Girls, boys or mixed.
- Language: in Wales, Welsh-medium, English-medium or dual-language; in Scotland, Gaelic-medium provision.
- Sixth form: does the school go to 18?
3. Compare results fairly
- Use the same year for every school. Results move from year to year, so compare like with like and check the year on every figure.
- Look at more than one measure. At GCSE, Attainment 8 shows results across eight subjects; the share with grade 5 or 7 in English and maths shows the top end.
- Remember intake. Selective schools take pupils who are already high attainers, so their raw results will be higher. Compare a grammar school with other grammar schools.
4. Check how hard it is to get in
This is where most comparisons stop short.
- Applications per place shows competition.
- Admission rules decide who gets in when a school is oversubscribed: siblings, catchment, distance, faith or a test.
- How far offers reached in recent years tells you whether your address is realistic. Look at several years, not one.
- Catchment boundaries: where a council publishes them, check whether your postcode is inside.
5. Read the inspection history
Look at every inspection in recent years, not just the latest. In England, reports since November 2025 use separate grades for each area and can’t be compared directly with older single-word judgements.
6. Compare two areas if you might move
If you’re weighing a move, compare the schools around two postcodes side by side, with house prices and what each neighbourhood is like.
7. Diary the dates
Open days, test registration, application deadlines and offer days come round every year. Key dates lists them for each nation, and every school’s page lists its own.
The worked example
Our Birmingham and Lincolnshire showcase runs this whole method for 23 grammar schools, and lets you switch between plans to see what each report adds. Search the schools near you to start your own.
Questions people ask
- How many schools should I compare?
- Every school your child could realistically attend: usually all secondary schools within about three miles in a town or city, more in rural areas. Then narrow to the three to six you would name on your application.
- What is the best measure of GCSE results?
- No single measure is enough. Attainment 8 shows results across eight subjects; the share of pupils with grade 5 or 7 in English and maths shows the top end. Always compare the same year for every school.
- How do I know if I will get a place?
- Check each school’s admission rules, how many applications it had per place, and how far offers reached in recent years. Where a council publishes catchment boundaries, check whether your postcode is inside. Nothing is guaranteed, because admissions change every year.
- Can I compare schools in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland?
- Yes. Each nation publishes different information, so the depth of comparison differs, but you can see every school near any UK postcode with its type, size and language, and each nation’s key dates.
- Is it free?
- Searching, the map and the school pages are free, and a free account opens the full Area report with results, admissions, catchment and inspection history for any postcode. Comparing two areas is £5.