Schools in Chorley
Streets of brick-terraced houses and surviving mill buildings give Chorley its unmistakable Lancashire character, the cotton industry's legacy still legible in the Victorian rows and the lone chimney that marks the town centre skyline. The town is the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Chorley, sitting in the county heartland roughly equidistant between Wigan to the south and Preston twelve miles to the north, with around 37,000 residents today.
Chorley station places Preston under fifteen minutes away on the Blackpool North line. Whittle-le-Woods and Euxton are widely regarded as the borough's most school-competitive residential patches, drawing families seeking strong primary catchments on quieter southern fringes, while Astley Village extends that family-oriented belt westward. Withnell and Buckshaw Village round out the residential mix.
39
Primary
schools
5
Secondary
schools
1
Post-16
colleges
5
Special
schools
1
Other
schools
Area Performance
Chorley schools rank in the top 47% of England
Across 45 primary and secondary schools, state and independent. The average Find My School Inspection Score is 7.46/10, +0.10 vs England.
Find My School Inspection Band
16% Elite
Distribution across all Chorley schools
Chorley vs England distribution
National Rank
Top 47%
Across all ranked Chorley schools
Primary schools: 40 schools (state + independent)
top 46% of 14,978
top 46% of 14,978
Secondary schools: 5 schools (state + independent)
top 55% of 3,862
top 55% of 3,862
Top 3 Primary Schools
2026
Chorley
Top 3 Secondary Schools
2026
Chorley
Local directory
School profiles in Chorley
Browse 45 local profile links across primary schools, secondary schools and sixth forms. Each profile brings together admissions context, performance data, inspection history and school details in one place.
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