National Offer Day: Third of children miss out on first choice of London secondary school

Schools see an increase in demand from children needing special educational needs help.
(PA)
PA Wire

Just over 30 per cent of pupils missed out on their top preference school and have been allocated a Year 7 place at a different school, according to London Councils data.

It comes amid an increase in demand from children needing help with special educational needs since the start of the pandemic, experts said.

In London the number of children applying for a secondary school has dropped slightly, partly because of Brexit and families moving away from the capital during the pandemic, according to London Councils.

It means this year’s figure for the number of London children gaining their first preference school is four per cent higher than last year.

Overall, 94 per cent of pupils got a place at one of the six schools they are allowed to apply to in order of preference. But it means 5,268 children were given a place at a school that was not on their list.

And 264 children have not yet been given a place at any school. They will be put on waiting lists in the hope that some children will drop out of the system to go private.

There are vast differences across the capital. In Kensington and Chelsea only 60 per cent of pupils got a place at their preferred school, whereas in Barking and Dagenham the figure was 81 per cent.

Pupils in Havering, Waltham Forest, Enfield, Ealing, City of London, Camden and Bexley were also more likely to get into their first choice school than elsewhere in London.

Martin Pratt, Chair of the Association of London Directors of Children’s Services, said: “Where parents and pupils have not been offered their first preference, it is because in some schools the demand for places outstrips supply.

“I can reassure parents that there are sufficient places in London’s secondary schools to meet overall demand.”

Damian White, London Councils Chair of Schools and Children’s Services, said: “We will be keeping an eye on birth rates and patterns of population growth, so that local authorities can continue to ensure that there are sufficient school places for every child that needs one.

“Councils are also dealing with growing demand in services for children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND), which has unfortunately been exacerbated by the pandemic. We remain keen to work with the government, boroughs and schools to support the development of specialist provision at a local level, to ensure that all pupils have access to a high-quality education in London.”

More children in other parts of the country also gained places at their first choice secondary schools according to a snapshot survey.

Early figures from 30 councils outside London which provided comparable data show that 20 have seen a rise in the proportion of pupils getting their first preference since 2021, while ten have seen a fall.

Among the areas where high proportions of pupils obtained their first preference are Dorset, where 97.7 per cent got their top choice, and Wiltshire where 95.4 per cent also were offered their first selection.

In comparison, in Wokingham, 76.3 per cent of pupils got their first choice.

Paul Whiteman, general secretary of school leaders’ union NAHT, 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 today. There is a population bulge that is currently hitting secondary schools, which means places are even more under pressure, especially in certain areas of the country."

He added: "The problem is that in an increasingly fragmented school system we lack a co-ordinated approach to place planning.

"Local authorities are responsible for ensuring sufficient school places, but the powers and resources necessary for them to do so have been removed. Instead, planning is haphazard; decisions are being made in isolation and new schools and new school places are not always being commissioned in the areas they are most needed.

"Until the government creates a national strategy to guarantee there are enough school places for every child in England, the annual anxious wait for families will continue."

A Department for Education spokeswoman said: "We know secondary school offer day is an exciting day for families, and the vast majority of pupils will be offered a place at one of their preferred schools. Last year, 93.4 per cent of pupils received offers from one of their top three choices of secondary school.

"Delivering good quality school places in all corners of the country is a top priority for this government, and pupils are much more likely to be receiving a place at a good school than they were over a decade ago - with 86 per cent of schools rated good or outstanding now compared to 68 per cent in 2010."

London borough

% getting into first choice school

Barking and Dagenham

81.6%

Barnet

72.64%

Bexley

73.18%

Brent

69.80%

Bromley

67.64%

Camden

73.30%

City of London

73.53%

Croydon

65.37%

Ealing

73.71%

Enfield

73.20%

Greenwich

65.10%

Hackney

67.09%

Hammersmith and Fulham

62.14%

Haringey

70.31%

Harrow

67.66%

Havering

81.21%

Hillingdon

71.03%

Hounslow

70.69%

Islington

66.32%

Kensington and Chelsea

60.51%

Kingston upon Thames

70.05%

Lambeth

63.96%

Lewisham

61.99%

Merton

69.22%

Newham

69.19%

Redbridge

65.51%

Richmond upon Thames

63.92%

Southwark

69.34%

Sutton

73.14%

Tower Hamlets

69.55%

Waltham Forest

78.47%

Wandsworth

65.22%

Westminster

68.55%

TOTAL

69.95%

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