300 fail to get first choice Shropshire secondary school
More than 300 children failed to get a place in their first choice secondary schools, new figures have revealed today.
Statistics released by Shropshire Council reveal that 107 children had to go to a second choice.
A further 22 went to a third choice and another 52 had to go to an alternative.
In Telford, 181 youngsters were sent on to a second choice school, while 40 went to their third choice.
Figures show that out of the thousands of youngsters who applied for secondary schools under the two councils, 93 per cent of those in Shropshire were able to go to their first choice, with 86 per cent going to their preferred choice in Telford.
Emily Taylor, a spokeswoman for Telford & Wrekin Council, said that the number going to their first choice was one per cent higher than the previous year.
She said: "Telford and Wrekin is a largely urban authority and so the vast majority of families live within a couple of miles of two or three secondary schools and gives them a wider choice of school within a realistic travelling distance.
"This can vary in other authorities where they are more rural such as Shropshire when a large part of the population may only have one secondary school close to their home address."
In total 2,758 applications were made for secondary school places in Shropshire and about 2,068 applications in Telford.
Previously, only the percentages of pupils getting preference places had been released by Shropshire Council.
David Minnery, Shropshire Council's cabinet member for children and young people, said: "We are pleased such a high percentage of pupils will be going to their preferred secondary school in 2016. Although it's not possible in every case, the fact that 98 per cent of applicants will attend one of their top three preferred schools is good news."
Today's figures compare favourably with the neighbouring authority of Wolverhampton, where almost half of secondary schools were oversubscribed, leaving 784 pupils having to settle for one of their second or third choices.
Wolverhampton, which also fills half the places at Thomas Telford School in Telford, says it expects school places to be under even more pressure in future years because of a baby boom.
Numbers needing places in secondary schools is expected to rise in the next six years.
Wolverhampton is also under pressure because of the arrival of families from EU countries.
Telford also needs to face the challenge of rising numbers caused by new housing being built in the borough.
