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Thousands of 10 and 11-year-olds have failed to get into their first choice of secondary school as offers were made across England, but the expected increase in demand for year 7 places in some big cities once again failed to materialise.
There were predictions that the proportion of children awarded a place at their top choice could hit a record low nationally this year as a result of a baby boom 11 years ago, but in London and Birmingham the number of applications and success rates were similar to last year.
In other areas of England, fewer children appeared to have gained places at their first choice of secondary school, according to a Press Association survey. Out of 33 councils polled, 18 reported a decline in the proportion of pupils getting their first preference.
Paul Whiteman, the general secretary of the National Association of Head Teachers, said: “There is extra pressure on secondary admissions this year as the pupil population bulge that has been moving through primary schools is currently hitting secondary schools. Many schools are particularly oversubscribed, especially in certain areas of the country.
“Until the government creates a national strategy to guarantee there are enough school places for every child in England, the annual anxious wait for families will continue.”
Competition for places in the capital remains high but applications for September 2023 dipped slightly to 92,641, from 92,672 in 2022 and 93,727 in 2021. As with last year, three in 10 pupils missed out on their first choice and almost nine in 10 (89%) got into one of their top three, while just under 5,500 children received no offer at all.
There are huge differences between boroughs. Lambeth had the lowest proportion of children getting their top choice at 61.56%, with Redbridge not much better at 62.79%. Barking and Dagenham had the highest proportion of first preferences at 81.67%, followed by the City of London with 81.25%.
Applications in the capital have been affected in recent years by the impact of the Covid pandemic and Brexit, with changing work patterns and parents moving out of London owing to high rents and rising living costs.
Ian Edwards, London Councils’ executive member for children and young people, said: “It is positive that once again the overwhelming majority of children have an offer from one of their preferred schools. Boroughs have worked diligently with schools to ensure there are sufficient places to meet the high demand for school places across the capital.”
Competition remained intense in Liverpool, where only 67.2% of children got their first preference, down slightly from 67.5% in 2022. In Birmingham, applications fell slightly, down from 15,214 in 2022 to 15,107, resulting in a slight increase in the proportion of children getting their first choice, up to 71.68% from 70.8% last year.
In Manchester, applications were marginally up from 6,832 in 2022 to 6,859, resulting in a slight decline in the proportion of children offered a place at their first-choice school, down from 77% to 76%.
In Kent, record numbers of children applied for a place at secondary school, and though the number offered a place at their first-preference school went up, the percentage fell from 79.59% to 78.21%. The council said 850 children did not get into any of their preferred schools. In contrast, in Wiltshire 95.05% of families got their top choice, and 93.6% in Wakefield.
The Department for Education said: “The vast majority of families will be offered a place at one of their preferred schools and most will be offered their top place. We have already created over 1 million school places in the last decade – the largest increase in school capacity for at least two generations.
“We have also announced nearly £530m to provide both primary and secondary places needed for 2023, and £940m for places needed for 2024 and 2025.”
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