More than 90% of Shropshire pupils get place at first choice school
More than nine out of 10 pupils were granted a place at their chosen school in Shropshire, figures released today reveal.
A total of 93 per cent of children in Shropshire won their first choice. The figure within Telford & Wrekin was slightly lower at 91 per cent.
Thousands of parents were told of the decision about their child's school via email or post yesterday.
Shropshire Council said it was happy that so many parents had been successful with their first choice.
Anne Gribbin, head of schools improvement and efficiency, said: "We are really pleased that such a high percentage of pupils will be going to their first choice of primary school in 2015. Our admissions team work very hard to ensure that as many children as possible are able to attend their preferred school.
"Although it's not possible in every case, the fact that almost 98 per cent of applicants will attend one of their top three preferred schools - and that all applicants have been offered a place – is good news."
In schools covered by Shropshire Council, 93.4 per cent, or 2,594 children, were awarded a place in their parents' first choice school.
Offers for second and third choices in Shropshire were 3.7 per cent (101 children) and 0.8 per cent (22 children) respectively, and five per cent and one per cent for Telford & Wrekin.
The figures mean that 2.2 per cent, or 60 children in Shropshire, were offered an alternative place, with the figure rising to three per cent for Telford & Wrekin.
In Shropshire 97.8 per cent of applicants were offered a place at a "preferred option", while in Telford & Wrekin 97 per cent received an offer from either their first, second, or third choice.The Shropshire figures were far higher than those in some other areas of the UK. In Hertfordshire the figure for parents receiving their first choice was just 81 per cent and in Birmingham only 84.7 per cent of applicants were successful in securing their first choice.
Netmums spokeswoman Rachel Burrows said: "The ongoing baby boom has put unprecedented pressure on school places and that means it's inevitable some parents will miss out on the school they want.
"Primaries are a child's first taste of school life and most parents feel it's vital to find the right one their child will feel secure and thrive at. But the competition for coveted schools is so intense that nationally an average of one in 10 children don't get into the school their parents hoped for, rising to four in 10 in some parts of the UK."
