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Use our free interactive tool to check whether any Wirral property falls within primary or secondary school catchment zones. Wirral is one of the few areas in the North West to retain selective education, so secondary planning here means understanding the 11+ alongside conventional distance-based catchment.
Free interactive map — enter any Birkenhead, Wallasey, Bebington, Heswall or West Kirby postcode and see exactly which catchment areas it falls within.
Wirral has several selective state schools, including Calday Grange Grammar School, West Kirby Grammar School, Upton Hall School and the Wirral Grammar Schools for Boys and Girls. Entry to these is by entrance test rather than catchment distance. The borough's comprehensive schools continue to allocate on distance, and the most popular are heavily oversubscribed.
Wirral Council is the admissions authority for community primary and secondary schools. For non-selective schools, places are allocated on published oversubscription criteria that normally end in straight-line distance from home to school.
For Wirral's grammar schools, admission is decided by an entrance test taken in Year 6. Distance may be used only as a tiebreaker between candidates of equal rank, so living nearby does not by itself secure a selective place.
Wirral Council publishes annual admissions information including the furthest distance offered at each oversubscribed school. Search 'Wirral school admissions' on the Wirral Council website. Grammar schools publish their own arrangements separately.
Click "Open Free Tool" above. No registration needed. Works in any browser on desktop or mobile.
Click "Add School" and search by school name or postcode. The tool locates it on the interactive map automatically.
Add the radius from the school's admissions data. You can enter distances in metres for precision.
Use "Check Address" to test any Wirral address. It will show you exactly how far inside or outside the catchment that property sits.
Our tool works for schools across Wirral and surrounding areas:
For Wirral's comprehensive schools, distance decides. Our tool measures to the metre.
See how Wirral catchments have shifted as grammar demand reshapes the surrounding comprehensives.
Plot up to 5 Wirral schools at once to compare selective and non-selective options side by side.
Generate a shareable link for your estate agent or solicitor before exchange.
Wirral's selective schools include Calday Grange Grammar School, West Kirby Grammar School, Upton Hall School, Wirral Grammar School for Boys and Wirral Grammar School for Girls. Each admits on entrance test performance.
No, children from outside the borough may sit the test. However, some Wirral grammar schools give priority to borough residents within their published criteria, so check each school's arrangements.
Comprehensive schools serving West Kirby, Heswall and parts of Bebington tend to be the most oversubscribed, with the shortest catchment distances.
Search 'Wirral school admissions' on the Wirral Council website for the furthest distance offered at each oversubscribed school.
Our free tool works for all UK schools. We also have dedicated guides for other major cities:
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