Shropshire and Telford school places: Parents find out which high school their children will go to
Parents across the region have now been told whether their child has a place at their first choice secondary school, with figures revealing the success rates for both Shropshire and Telford & Wrekin.
It can be an agonising wait for parents as they prepare for where their child will be learning for the next five years, and for those who are unsuccessful they will now be exploring their options or reconciling themselves to second, third, or alternative choices.
In the Shropshire Council area 95.8 per cent of pupils have been offered a place at their first choice school, while in the neighbouring Telford & Wrekin area the figure was lower at 85 per cent.
Under the current system there is a maximum number of children that can be admitted to a school in each year group.
If people are not offered a place at their preferred school it will be because the school received more applications than places available. When this happens the school is said to be oversubscribed and places have to be allocated in strict order of priority, according to the oversubscription criteria.
Parents do have the right to appeal against the decisions.
For parents who have been unsuccessful in their application they may go on to appeal.
If an application for an appeal is made the parent will be informed of a hearing date and procedures.
In Shropshire appeals will be heard by an independent appeal panel and are due to take place at Shirehall in Shrewsbury during May and June. The current Shropshire school place offered is retained pending the outcome.
If unsuccessful at the appeal stage, the childs name may be held on a waiting list until the end of the autumn term 2017 if parents wish.
Telford & Wrekin appeals panels consist of three people, none of whom work for the council or have any connection with the school concerned.[/breakout]
David Minnery, Shropshire Council's cabinet member for children and young people, said: "We are pleased that a very high percentage of pupils will be going to their preferred secondary school in 2017. Although it's not possible in every case, the fact that 99 per cent of applicants will attend one of their top three preferred schools is good news for Shropshire residents."
In total there were 2657 applicants in the Shropshire Council area with 99 per cent being awarded a place at one of their top three choices.
The figures show that 95.8 per cent were offered their first preference school, 3.2 per cent were offered their second preference school, 0.3 per cent were offered their third preference school, while 0.8 per cent were offered an alternative preference.
In Shropshire the first preference figure has risen from 93.4 per cent last year.
In Telford & Wrekin there were 2121 applications for secondary school places, with 96.04 per cent of applicants offered one of their preferred schools.
The figures show that 85 per cent were offered their first preference, 8.4 per cent were offered their second preference, 2.4 per cent were offered their third preference, and 3.9 per cent were offered an alternative preference.
