Up to 50% of pupils fail to get into first choice of secondary

HALF of pupils in some areas failed to get a place at their firstchoice secondary school yesterday as applications surged, with an extra 4,000 in London alone.

The number applying has risen at around two thirds of councils as the number of 11-year-olds grows.

Official analysis suggests the increase in pupils is the result of a baby boom caused by immigration just over a decade ago.

It means councils are scrambling to lay on extra places this year, with many creating extra classrooms or expanding class sizes.

Yesterday, 500,000 pupils around the country found out whether they had been accepted by their first- choice schools, with around one in five expected to lose out. The area where they were least likely to get their chosen school place appeared to be the London borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, where 49 per cent lost out, early analysis suggests.

Meanwhile, in Kensington and Chelsea it was 46 per cent, in Lambeth 45 per cent and in both Lewisham and Westminster 44 per cent.

Across the capital, a third were left disappointed, while in Birmingham and Liverpool it was 29 per cent.

But in some areas almost every parent got their child into their chosen school.

In East Riding, only 3 per cent missed out on their first choice, while in Barnsley and Hartlepool it was 4 per cent.

Peter John, deputy chairman of London Councils, said there had been a rise of 3,908 applications to the city this year, or 4.4 per cent.

He added: ‘London boroughs are working with their local schools to respond to this increased demand so that all pupils have access to a high-quality education.’ Elsewhere in the country, figures from 22 of the 33 councils who responded to a Press Association survey received an increase in applications.

There was a fall in just five. The others did not have the data to make a comparison.

It is estimated there will be an extra 540,000 more secondary school pupils by 2025 – a rise of 19 per cent.

As a result, councils across the country will have to expand schools quickly or build new ones. Yesterday marked the end of a four-month wait for parents, who had to submit their applications by last October.

Councils ask them to list up to six preferences with their favourite first. Malcolm Trobe, of the Association of School and College Leaders, said: ‘Unless there’s the provision of sufficient supply to meet the additional demand then people are going to get less first choices. That’s a mathematical certainty.’

Around 65,000 more youngsters are expected to join secondary schools this autumn alone. The Department for Education said that 735,000 places had been created across secondary and primary schools since 2010.

School Standards Minister Nick Gibb said: ‘We’re investing £5.8billion to create more good school places. Nine out of ten pupils get one of their top three choices of schools.’

Scramble to lay on extra places