More than 98 per cent of Somerset children have been offered a secondary school place at one of their top three choices, the County Council has said this week.
New school admission statistics out this week show that 93.56 per cent received their first choice compared to 94.18 per cent in 2019.
Overall, the figures show 98.19 per cent of applicants being offered a place at one of their top three secondary school preferences, a slight increase on last year’s figure of 97.44 per cent.
Parents who applied for places online will receive the outcome by email. Those applied on paper forms will receive theirs by post in the coming days.
Councillor Faye Purbrick, Cabinet Member for Education and Transformation, said: “It’s great to see so many students continuing to secure places at their first-choice school, and so many being offered one of their preferences.”
“We are investing substantially into school buildings to make sure we have the spaces in the right places to meet the preferences of as many families as possible and we will continue to do this.”
“Processing more than 4,500 applications and matching children to their preferences is a huge challenge and I’d like to thank all the staff involved. I wish all the children moving on to secondary school the very best as they start the next stage of their education.”
From the applications received this year, figures show:
- 1st preference met – 93.56 per cent (4299 applications)
- 2nd preference – 3.98 per cent (183 applications)
- 3rd preference – 0.65 per cent (30 applications)
Parents/carers of children not offered one of their top three secondary school preferences can appeal the decision.
More information about the appeal process can be found at http://www.somerset.gov.uk/education-learning-and-schools/choosing-a-school/
Parents who have applied for places for children starting school in September 2020, or moving from Infant to Junior or First to Middle school, will receive their outcomes in April.
