More than 90 per cent of pupils across Shropshire should secure their place at their first choice secondary school this year, it was announced today.Nationally more than half a million children will discover whether they have secured their preferred school, although figures suggest up to 100,000 could miss out on their first choice, with problems likely to be far worse in England’s cities than rural areas.

Today Shropshire County Council said the number of pupils who would get their first preference in Shropshire was 2,954. The figure includes children living in and outside of the county, but does not include special needs pupils.

Ian Budd, the council’s assistant director for children and young people’s services, said: “In Shropshire our preliminary figures show that about 93 per cent of parents get their first preference, which is an increase on last year.

“This is good news for Shropshire families, as more parents get their first preference here than many other parts of the country.”

Councils must write to parents by the end of today informing them of their allocated schools.

Some parents will be receiving the news first online.

There are fears that the new school admissions code, which came into force last year, could see fewer parents winning places for their children at their first choice schools.

Last week, official figures obtained by the Conservatives showed around 100,000 parents missed out on their first choice of secondary school last year.

Ministers promised to “measure and monitor” the impact of the new code on families. But School Minister Jim Knight said parents had more choice now than a decade ago.