Nearly 500 children missed out on their choice of school
CLOSE TO 500 children in Leicestershire missed out on a place at all their preferred schools this year.
The number of children in the area who were either offered a place at a school that wasn’t one of their preferences or received no offer at all was at its highest level since 2014, when records began.
In Leicestershire, a total of 484 children did not receive an offer for any of their preferences in 2019 a record high, up from 355 in 2018.
This included 211 applicants for Reception and 273 applicants for Year 7 – all of these children received no offers.
Meanwhile, in Leicester, 403 children applying for secondary schools and 152 children applying for primary places did not get one of their preferred FORMER Leicester City goalkeeper Chris Kirkland has said checking into a rehab centre was “the best decision I could have ever made”.
Kirkland, who was born in Barwell and played three times for City on loan in 2010 – also winning one England cap – booked into a rehab centre in North Wales last week.
In a tweet, he said: “I don’t want sympathy. The reason I’m sharing this is for people to know, it’s okay to ask for help.
“I’m one week into my rehabilitation at Parkland Place. What a wonderful place.
“The staff do a fantastic job in every way possible, I’m feeling great but long way to go.”
The 38-year old started his career in 1998 with Coventry City, before moving to Liverpool, followed by Wigan Athletic, schools on the national offers days this year.
This total of 555 was an increase compared to the 342 who missed out in 2018.
For those applying for primary school, 90.5% of those in Leicester got their top pick, while it was 90.4% in Leicestershire.
In 2019, there were no children in Leicester who did not receive an offer of a school place.
One in 12 Year 6 pupils (8.3%) in Leicester missed Sheffield Wednesday and Preston North End.
After an outpouring of support on social media, he posted a video of himself at the centre.
He said: “I got to that point where I needed help and I came to this wonderful place.
“There’s still a long way to go but it was the best decision I could have ever made.”
He also thanked his wife Leeona and his friend Nick, who he said supported him when he realised he needed to go.
He ended the video: “Anyone that is struggling, don’t be afraid, don’t be scared, just ask for help.
“The good thing in this life is that there are people there who will help you. Be brave, be strong and you’ll be fine.” out on place at any of their preferred secondary schools, the local authority’s highest proportion since 2014.
In Leicester, 78.1% of children applying for a secondary place received their first choice of school, the lowest proportion getting their first choice on record, while 89.7% of children in Leicestershire received their first choice of school, again a record low.
Across England, 80.9% of applicants for a secondary school place received an offer of their first preference school on National Offers Day, March 1.
This was down 82.1% in 2018, and from is the lowest proportion getting their first choice since records for secondary schools began in 2010.
The proportion receiving an offer of any of their preferences also dropped to 94.8% in 2019, from 95.5% in 2018, according to figures published by the Department of Education.
In 2019, 604,500 applications for a secondary school place were received, an increase of 3.7% on 2018 (which itself saw a 3.6% increase on 2017 application numbers), as rising births since 2002 continue to move into secondary level.
At primary level, 90.6% of applicants received an offer of their first choice school on National Offers Day, April 16, and 98% received an offer of one of their top three preferences.
The proportion of primary applicants who received an offer of their first choice school decreased slightly from 91.0% in 2018.
The proportion of applications that did not receive a place at any of their preferred secondary schools increased from 4.5% in 2018 to 5.2% in 2019, the highest proportion on record.
For primary school applicants, the proportion not getting a place at a preferred school rose from 1.9% to 2%.