The winners and losers in schools’ popularity contest
MORE THAN HALF OF APPLICANTS IN CITY AND COUNTY DIDN’T GET THEIR FIRST-CHOICE PLACE, FIGURES REVEAL
A LARGE number of children across Nottinghamshire did not secure a place at the school of their first choice this September, the latest data shows.
Around 60 percent of parents in the city and county were disappointed after not getting their first choice of a place, according to figures revealed by the Department of Education.
Less than half of those who put Bluecoat Aspley Academy as their first choice secured a place this September.
The school received no less than 390 applications of which just 41 percent were successful. Of those who put the school as their first pick, only 158 have secured a place.
Just 41 percent of those who put Bluecoat Aspley Academy in Nottingham as their first choice secured a place for this September.
Including second and third preferences, there were 5.4 applications for each offered place, with 18 second preferences and one third preference getting a place.
Nottingham University Academy of Science and Technology was the next hardest secondary to get into locally, with just 44 percent of those who put it as a first preference getting a place.
A total of 228 hopeful parents have put the school as their first option while just 120 have successfully secured a place.
Edna G Olds Academy in Nottingham was the hardest primary school to secure a place at locally.
Just over a half of the applications were successful with the school being put down as a preference 109 times.
The school had 1.9 first preferences for each of the 29 places offered, with just 54 percent of those who put the school as their first choice getting a place.
However, no second or third preferences were successful.
Councillor Eunice Campbellclark, portfolio holder for schools at Nottingham City Council, said: “We know that schools in Nottingham remain very popular, with most rated as either ‘Good’ or ‘Outstanding’ by Ofsted.
“Schools were able to offer a place to pupils in their local area if they applied this year, but we understand that parents will have different rea
sons for where they want to send their children. There are enough places for all pupils in the city.
“We have a statutory duty to manage the admissions process for Nottingham. However, it is important to be clear that the majority of schools in the city are academies and make their own decisions on which pupils are given a place based on their unique admission criteria.
“The Government won’t allow councils to open new maintained schools, but we have invested £42m since 2009 extending buildings and classrooms – creating 5,000 extra primary places.
“We work with academy trusts to continue this expansion across secondaries.”
Outside of the city area, Hucknall Flying High Academy saw 54 first preferences for 30 places offered with just 56 percent of parents who put it as a first choice being offered a place.
A spokesperson for Gilthill Primary School, which received 141 applications for their 30 places on offer, added: “We are delighted that Gilthill Primary School is held in such high regard in the local community.
“We are very proud of our school and our families and thrilled that so many parents are selecting us as their first-choice school.
“Unfortunately, we simply don’t have the spaces to accommodate all families and I can appreciate how disappointing this is for parents.”
Elizabeth Ellis, head teacher at Hollywell Primary School, said that the educational establishment has received an ”uncharacteristically high number of first-place applications” with many being refused due to high demand.
Just 30 pupils have been offered a place at the popular school, despite more than 100 initially applying.
Ms Willis added: “We are thrilled to have grown in popularity in the area as we have worked very hard to develop our school.
“Unfortunately, we only have so many places we can offer. This is the first time we have had so many applications, as historically up to 70 percent of our pupils have been from out of catchment. We hope this does not discourage families from applying in the future.”
Councillor Tracey Taylor, chairman of Nottinghamshire County Council’s children and young people’s committee, said: “We do everything possible to support parents so that they are able to send their child to their local school.
“This year, 93.4 percent of Nottinghamshire children were offered their first preference school for reception. That is 8,105 out of 8,681 that applied on time for a school place. In addition, there was a slight increase in the percentage of parents who were offered one of their preferred schools in Nottinghamshire (98.8 percent).
“We are proud that all parents who applied on time have been offered a primary school place for their child in September.”
Marion Clay, service director for education, learning and skills, added: “Of applications processed, 93.4 percent were allocated their first preference and 98.8 percent were offered one of their preferences. Of the 1.2 percent who were offered an alternative school place, over half (55.5 percent) had made just a single preference.
“Parents are strongly encouraged to make use of all four of their preferences as this way they are more likely to secure a place at a school they are happy for their child to attend.”
With children returning to school, applications for places for next September are starting to open. The application deadline for applying for a secondary place is October 31, while primary school applications open on January 15, 2022.