87% Get First Choice Primary School

April 16, 2015 by Mike

87% get first choice primary school on national offer day

Thursday 16th April 2015

Nearly nine in ten Southend-on-Sea children will start primary school in September 2015 at their first preference primary school.

The Council today announced the data on primary school allocations as part of the ‘national offer day’, with 3% more parents and children getting their first preference primary school choice than in 2014, and 8% more than in 2012.

Out of 2149 applications 1868 (87%) received an offer for their first preference, 151 (7%) their second preference, and 51 (2%) an offer for their third choice. Seventy-nine (4%) received an alternative offer, which was 32 less than the 111 who received an alternative offer last year.

Jane Theadom, the council’s head of learning, says: “It is pleasing that nearly nine in 10 pupils have received offers for the first preference and 96% one of their top three. This is an improvement on previous year, and a major jump from 2012, when 79% received their first preference. This is also the best figure we have achieved since we started recording figures in 2010.

“We are pleased that despite having 26 additional applications compared to this time last year, more people have received their first choice and this really highlights the work that we do around school admissions and increasing pupil places.

“We of course recognise that there will be disappointed families in the 13% who did not receive their first choice and a small number who did not receive any of their top three. That is why we continue to work hard on plans to extend schools and our school places strategy helps to ensure that there are sufficient places offering good quality and choice to local parents and carers.”