Pupils miss out on school places

Fewer children will be going to their first choice secondary school in Peterborough this September after a record number of applications for places.

A total of 2,627 applications for places were received by Peterborough City Council this year - 162 more than last year, equating to a six per cent increase.

However, just 82 per cent of the youngsters will be going to the school they chose as their first pick, compared to 91.5 per cent last year.

Ninety five per cent of pupils will be offered one of their three preference schools meaning a total of 142 students were not offered a place at one of their three preference schools.

This is higher than last year when two per cent of children did not get a place at one of their preferred schools.

And the pressure on school places is only set to increase, with more applications expected in future years as the city’s population grows.

Jonathan Lewis, Service Director for Education for Peterborough City Council said work to expand secondary schools in the city was taking place.

He said: “We have dealt with more applications for secondary school places this year and we expect this trend to continue for the coming years.

“We have been planning for this by working with existing schools to increase their capacity, for example at Ormiston Bushfield Academy, Jack Hunt School and Nene Park Academy where building works are due to complete this summer.”

Councillor Lynne Ayres, cabinet member for education, skills and university, said: “Secondary school is a big milestone in a child’s life and it’s fantastic to see that almost just over eight out of every 10 children have been offered a place at their first preference school.

“Our education team works hard to provide support and challenge to schools in all aspects of education and 11 out of the city’s 12 secondary schools which have been inspected by OFSTED have been rated as Good or Outstanding.”

Parents have the right to appeal to an Independent Appeal Panel about any offered place. Details of how to appeal are included with the offer letters, on the council website at www.peterborough.gov.uk and on the applicants preferred schools website.

‘We have dealt with more applications for secondary school this year’