Parents will "go through hell" next week as they wait to find out if their child has secured a place at the secondary school of their choice, campaigners have warned.
More than half a million 11-year-olds are due find out what school they will be attending from September, and the results are sure to spell heartache for some.
Last year almost one in five failed to gain admittance to their first choice.
Competition for places is likely to be most keenly felt in the counties which still have grammar schools, and in many areas of England children will be forced to accept places at the second or even third choice of school.
As many as 20 pupils are battling it out for each place at some of the most popular schools in the country, the Daily Mail reported.
Margaret Morrissey, of campaign group Parents Outloud said it was inevitable that many families will end up disappointed this year.
She said: "Parents go through hell this time every year. When they open the letter, if it is good news, they often burst into tears and realise what terrific stress they were under. If it's not good news it will be devastating. There is nothing you can say to parents, it's just devastating."
A survey of 34 local authorities conducted by the Telegraph found that while 18 councils, including Durham, Derbyshire and Wiltshire have reported a rise in the numbers of pupils securing their first choice, 14 authorities, such as Kingston-upon-Thames, Windsor and Middlesbrough, the numbers are falling.
Last year the Government brought in a new statutory admissions code aimed at making the process fairer, and the code has just been tightened again.
Ministers said it would help to stamp out unfair practices such as schools interviewing parents and pupils or asking for personal information about their family background in order to select pupils.
