One in five pupils will miss choice of school

THOUSANDS of Year 6 primary pupils will today find out which secondary school they’ll attend from September – but one in five are expected to miss out on their first choice.

A baby boom fuelled by migration has meant soaring demand for places, with around 65,000 more 11-year-olds than last year expected to join secondary schools this autumn.

As councils struggle to expand schools to keep up with the population, it is feared that today’s National Offer Day could be even worse than last year when, out of 562,487 applications for a secondary school place, just 83.5 per cent of children were offered their first choice. Malcolm Trobe, deputy general secretary of the Association Of School And College Leaders, said that in some areas a squeeze on places means it is a ‘mathematical certainty’ that parents will see their child miss out on their top choice.

He added: ‘Unless there’s the provision of sufficient supply to meet the additional demand, then people are going get less first choices.

‘Some areas are not going to have any problems – they have enough schools and they are not full – others are seeing a huge increase [in child numbers] and not enough places.’

Last year, 94.6 per cent of primary pupils were offered one of their top three secondary choices.

Official figures show that pupil numbers in England’s secondary schools are expected to grow by half a million by 2025 – a rise of 19 per cent. Since 2010, 735,000 new school places have been created – with 136,000 in the past year alone.

While there is already a shortage of places at the best schools in many areas, the situation is expected to get worse. Last year, a study by Teach First, the social mobility charity, found that less-privileged youngsters were being priced out of top schools as their parents could not afford to live in the catchment areas.

However, school standards minister Nick Gibb said last night: ‘We are raising standards across the country so that every child can go to a good school, where they are taught the knowledge and skills they need for future success, and we’re investing £5.8billion to create even more good school places.

‘Nine out of ten pupils get one of their top-three choices of schools.’

Getting a place at a first- choice secondary school is a source of worry for many parents. Justine Roberts, chief executive of parenting social network Mumsnet, said: ‘Many parents believe getting into the right school has a big impact on their children’s life chances and happiness, so it’s a much-discussed topic.

‘The school admissions system is all about where you live, and parents’ experiences differ accordingly.

‘In areas where popular schools are over- subscribed, our users report finding the process pretty darned stressful. Stories abound of families cheating the system, which only adds to people’s anxiety and sense of injustice.’

Figures last year revealed that between 2015 and 2016 more than half of towns and counties saw a fall in the number of pupils winning a place at their first-choice secondary school.

‘Only adds to the sense of injustice’