Distance Criterion

The distance criterion is the tie-break rule most state schools use to allocate remaining places once all higher-priority groups have been satisfied.

Almost every English admissions policy ends with a clause like:

Where the school is oversubscribed after applying the criteria above, places will be allocated by straight-line distance from the child’s home address to the main school entrance, with the nearer pupils having priority.

A few important details:

• The distance is straight-line ("as the crow flies"), not driving or walking distance. Local authorities use GIS software to measure it precisely.
• The home address is the child’s sole or main residence. Splitting custody or maintaining two addresses creates a real question about which is the relevant address; LAs have published rules.
• The furthest distance offered in a given year is published as part of admissions statistics. This is the "effective catchment" for that cohort.

If you don’t qualify under any higher priority group (sibling, medical need, faith), the distance cut-off determines whether you get a place - so it’s the figure to focus on.