The Orchard School admissions: how far away places were offered

Reception offers at The Orchard School, year by year

Things to know before you apply for September 2027

• Less predictable The share of places going to siblings has swung (19 of 30 places in 2023, 8 of 30 in 2026). Treat past cut-offs here with extra caution.

Ofsted inspection

At an ungraded inspection that ended on 15 January 2025, Ofsted found that the school has maintained the standards identified at its previous inspection. Ofsted’s file doesn’t give the earlier grade; the full report states it.

Ungraded inspection (previous framework), ended 15 January 2025.

• This inspection was under Ofsted’s previous framework. Since 10 November 2025 Ofsted publishes report cards instead, and says the new grades can’t be compared with the old ones. How Ofsted grades schools
• From Ofsted’s data as at 30 September 2026. An inspection after that date may not be shown yet: the full report on Ofsted’s website is always the latest.

Read the full report on Ofsted’s website Source: Management information - state-funded schools - latest inspections as at 30 Sep 2026 (Ofsted, published 16 October 2026). Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Admission criteria at The Orchard School

If more children apply than there are places, the 2026 rules offer places in this order. In 2026, the last places went to children in group 4.

1. Looked-after and previously looked-after children (including children adopted from state care outside England).
2. Children of staff employed at the school for two or more years, or recruited to a skills-shortage post.
3. Children with a brother or sister at the school at the time of application.
4. Children of Muslim families, nearest first by the safest walking distance from home to school (the council's measuring system).
5. Children from non-Muslim families whose parents want them educated in a school with an Islamic ethos, nearest first by the shortest, safest walking distance. We can't measure walking routes, so a year whose places ran out by walking distance isn't judged.

Where a year’s rules are missing from our data, we use the nearest year’s.

Read the official admission rulesStarting primary school in Lambeth 2026/27: primary school admission brochure (September 2026 intake). The school’s own published arrangements always take priority over our summary.