Graphic: Percentage of children offered their first choice

Nearly half of children in some local authorities in England have missed out on their first choice of secondary school this year, according to a survey of local authorities by The Times.

London authorities did particularly badly. Only 51 per cent of parents in Wandsworth, 59 per cent in Kensington and Chelsea and 63 per cent in Barnet got into their first-choice school, while Westminster disappointed nearly a third of applicants.

In Birmingham 35 per cent did not get their first choice, while in Kent 30 per cent of children were disappointed.

Other councils claimed that almost everyone got into their first choice. Only 7.7 per cent of children in West Sussex and 6.4 per cent in Norfolk did not get offered a place at the school they wanted.

Of the 560,000 children applying for a secondary school place in England for next September it is estimated that 100,000 did not get their first choice.

The figures illustrate the scale of the challenge facing the Government in making good Labour’s pledge that all parents will have access to a good school for their children.

Dozens of disappointed parents contacted The Times yesterday to express their frustration over school admissions. Most were not given any of their preferred schools.

One woman said that her daughter had been allocated a place at a school 20 miles from her home, more than one hour’s journey by car each way and necessitating a round trip of 200 miles a week.

Several had been given places in schools that they had never heard of in neighbouring authorities.

One said that she now has four children going to four different secondary schools, and several others had been allocated no place at all

Many had no intention of sending their child to the school that had been allocated to them, with several saying that they would educate them at home. Others were busy searching on the internet for a private school.

Yesterday the independent school Brighton College announced that there had been a 43 per cent rise in inquiries from parents after the disappointment of local parents following the introduction of a lottery system for allocating school places in Brighton and Hove.

Under the new system 22 per cent of parents missed out on their first choice of secondary school, compared with 16 per cent last year.

Richard Cairns, the headmaster, said that the college would break a 160-year-old tradition by admitting pupils at the age of 11 instead of 13 in order to accommodate the surge in demand, and create an initial extra class of 24 pupils.

At the same time, unions issued a warning that parental disappointment has been heightened by the creation of a single nationwide admissions day, on which parents throughout England learn if their child has a place at their preferred school.

John Dunford, the general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said the focus on an admissions day had “raised the stakes”, with more parents now expecting to be able to make a choice in schools and more likely to feel let down. Dr Dunford also criticised comments in The Times yesterday from Jim Knight, the Schools Minister, that disappointed parents should use the appeals process.

“Parents who have not got their first-choice school should not take up the minister’s suggestion and appeal automatically. The vast majority will be disappointed. It will overload the system and waste a lot of time for head teachers and governors.

“Only if parents feel that the admissions process has not been properly followed should they appeal,” he said.Thunderer, Page 17

What the parents say

Angry parents e-mailed The Times yesterday, to express their frustration. The vast majority did not get a place at any of their chosen secondary schools. Some were not offered a place at all, while others were given places in schools they had never heard of in other authorities.

“We put down our three choices and our reasons for them. We discovered to our horror that our daughter had been offered a place at a school that we never considered and that all our efforts and all our preferences had been totally disregarded. We are following the appeal procedure in the hope that we eventually get at least one of our preferences. Steph and Tony Pilkington Leyland, Lancashire

“I was distressed to find that my child had received his fifth-choice school. Luckily I realised that we may not get in and completed my appeal last week. We were told that if we failed to put down our nearest school we would not have a place at all. There is no real choice for parents based on this.” Edna Griffiths Haringay, London

“Our child was offered a place at a school in Warwickshire (which I did not list as a preference) which is over 30 miles from where we live. Our three preferred schools were not allocated. Of course we are going to appeal. Paula Bailey

“My son is a reasonably talented sportsman and intends to take up a career in sport, probably as a PE teacher. We decided on a sports college, but were allocated a place at an arts college, where sport is very much a secondary subject. Anonymous

“Our son had been offered a school that was not one of the three choices made. It is not even in our local authority area. Instead it is within the Watford area some 2.5 miles from where we live. We have since discovered that at least five children who go to my son’s junior school had selected the school that we selected as 1st choice, as their second choice, and have been allocated places there, although we are closer to this school than all of these other children.” Anonymous

“My daughter hasn't got into any of the six schools we selected, let alone our first choice. She is, effectively, left with the dregs, despite successfully representing her school in sporting events and playing leading parts in school plays. This is an enormous blow to her self-esteem, as she is asking why so many have rejected her.” A Parent, Croydon

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