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Almost one in five families missed out on their first-choice secondary school in England, analysis by The Telegraph suggests.
Hundreds of thousands of 10 and 11-year-olds found out on Friday which state secondary school has offered them a place.
Telegraph analysis of early data on secondary school offer rates, shows that on average, 81.6 per cent of children received a place at their first-choice school.
This was marginally up on last year, when the first-choice offer rate was 81.1 per cent.
However, it suggests that nearly one in five families did not get their preferred place.
The analysis of this year’s offer rate is based on 121 responses from councils to a Telegraph survey.
Among the areas where high proportions of pupils have obtained their first preference are East Riding, where 97 per cent got their top choice, and Wiltshire, where 95 per cent also were offered their preferred school.
In comparison, in Birmingham, 71 per cent of children secured their first preference, while in Reading 72 per cent obtained their top choice.
London boroughs had some of the lowest first-choice offer rates. In Lewisham, 63 per cent of applicants received their preferred choice. The figure was 65 per cent in Richmond upon Thames and 63 per cent in Hammersmith and Fulham.
London Councils, which represents 32 boroughs in the city, said that overall almost 71 per cent of children applying to schools in the capital, or 63,757 children, got into their first preference school, which was marginally higher than last year.
The improvement came after the total number of applications made for secondary school places in London reached 90,348, a decrease of 2.5 per cent compared to last year, which was partly attributed to families moving out of the city since the pandemic.
Local authorities warned of the effect of a falling birth rate in the capital. London Councils warned that a reduction in pupil numbers would see a drop in the amount of funding a school receives, which could force some schools to narrow the curriculum, offer fewer after school clubs or reduce the number of teaching and support staff.
However, NAHT, the school leaders’ union, continued to warn of oversubscription of schools in some areas of the country.
‘Anxious time’
Paul Whiteman, the union’s general secretary, said: “This can be an anxious time for families. Choosing the right school and securing a place there is a huge moment in a child’s life and not everyone will get their first choice.
“There is extra pressure on secondary admissions this year as there is a pupil population bulge that is currently hitting secondary schools. Many schools are particularly oversubscribed, especially in certain areas of the country.”
Of 112 councils that responded to a Telegraph survey, 45 recorded a drop in the share of pupils achieving their first-choice offer, while 67 reported an increase.
A Department for Education spokesman said: “Delivering good quality school places is a top priority for this government and almost 1.2 million additional pupil places have been created since 2010, with many more in the pipeline.
“In 2023, over 80 per cent families were offered their first-choice secondary school and over 90 per cent received offers from one of their top three choices.”