Always check the official catchment checker
Every home in Fife has a catchment for a non-denominational primary and secondary school, and for a denominational (Roman Catholic) primary and secondary school. Fife Council’s official catchment checker is the source to trust. Enter your postcode, pick your address, and you will see both the non-denominational and denominational schools, with links to school pages and maps where they are available.
The council is explicit that your catchment schools may not be the closest to your home, and that parents and carers should not rely on information from third parties. New postcodes from new housing are uploaded to the checker — which matters in a city that is still growing to the north and east.
Schools in the city
Our schools directory lists Fife Council primary, secondary and specialist schools in Dunfermline, plus Crossgates Primary in the adjoining settlement that KnowFife includes in the City of Dunfermline Area.
There are four secondary schools: Dunfermline High School (Jennie Rennies Road), Queen Anne High School (Broomhead Parks), and, on the Dunfermline Learning Campus at Old Muirhouses Road, Woodmill High School and St Columba’s RC High School (listed by Fife Council as St Columbas RC High School). Specialist provision includes Calaiswood School at the Duloch campus and Woodmill ASN on the Learning Campus.
Denominational catchment in the city is served at primary level by St Margaret’s RC Primary School on Woodmill Road, and at secondary level by St Columba’s.
Enrolling, and asking for a different school
It is customary for children to attend their catchment school. If you want a different school, Fife Council treats that as a placing request. For Primary 1, the council runs an online enrolment process with a closing date each year; if that window has closed, you should contact the catchment school directly. For other primary stages, contact the school. Fife Council’s enrolment page is the place to check current dates and what happens if you make a placing request.
For further advice on catchments, the council asks you to email education.services@fife.gov.uk.
School transport
Fife Council provides transport assistance for pupils enrolled in their catchment school who live more than one mile away (primary) or more than two miles away (secondary). Only pupils attending their catchment school can qualify for a travel pass. Check the council’s catchment maps and transport pages rather than assuming a bus will be provided.
New homes, Whitefields, Kingswood and Wellwood
If you are moving into a new estate, use the official checker with your new address — not a brochure, a sales office, or a neighbour’s school. Catchments can be updated as postcodes are added. KnowFife’s Local Strategic Assessment for the City of Dunfermline Area notes that strategic development has been granted planning permission and that work is underway at Dunfermline North (Wellwood). Treat any informal advice about which school “the new houses go to” as unverified until the checker says so.
Questions people actually have
My child is already in a school and we are moving house within Dunfermline. Do we have to change school?
The catchment school for the new address is the one the checker shows for that address. If you want to stay at the current school, or move to a different one, that is a placing request — contact the school and Fife Council education services for the current process.
We are not Catholic. Can we still apply to a Roman Catholic school?
Every home also has a denominational catchment. Whether a place is available, and how placing requests are decided, is a matter for Fife Council and the school. Start with the official checker and the school’s published information.
Is there a nursery at every primary school?
No. Fife Council’s nursery directory lists nursery classes at many, but not all, Dunfermline primaries. For example, council nursery classes are listed at Bellyeoman, Carnegie, Duloch, Halbeath, Lynburn, McLean, Pitreavie, Pittencrieff, St Leonard’s, St Margaret’s, Touch and Townhill, plus Crossgates — but not, on that official list, at Canmore, Commercial, Masterton or Milesmark. Partnership nurseries and playgroups are listed separately.
Where can I see the catchment on a map?
Fife Council’s catchment checker links to school pages and catchment maps where they are available. The school transport pages also link to primary and secondary maps for denominational and non-denominational catchments.