Up to one in three families miss out on preferred choice of secondary school in areas of England

Desperate parents crashed websites today as one in three children missed out on their preferred secondary school in some areas – as a ‘critical incident’ was declared amid the chaos.

Families across England have been discovering what secondary school their child will be joining this autumn, on what is commonly known as National Offer Day. 

But a survey has suggested fewer children are gaining places at their first choice in a number of places in England.

Early figures indicate that in some parts of the country, more than a quarter of families have missed out on their first choice – rising to nearly two in five pupils in some London boroughs. 

Findings from a survey of local authorities show, of the 68 councils that provided comparable data, 39 (57 per cent) have seen a fall in the proportion of pupils getting their first choice compared with last year, while 25 (37 per cent) saw a rise and four (six per cent) experienced no change. 

Some parents have slammed local council websites, which have been plagued with technical issues, including in Leicestershire, Warwickshire and Reading

One expert believes this is due to the rising number of pupils, causing secondary schools to become oversubscribed.

In London, meanwhile, as many as three in 10 children missed out on a place at their top choice of secondary school.

The number of applications in the capital fell slightly this year, with families leaving London due to different ‘working patterns’ attributed to the decrease.

Overall, 69.78 per cent of pupils who applied to start at a London secondary school this autumn received an offer from their first preference, compared to 69.95 per cent last year, figures show. 

Across the capital, 92,641 pupils applied for a secondary school place – a 0.03 per cent decrease on last year. 

London Councils, which collated the figures, said application numbers were affected by a number of reasons ‘including varying pressures on different schools and local authority areas’.

Sussex Police Chief Superintendent James Collis (left) and Metropolitan Police Detective Superintendent Lewis Basford outside Sussex Police HQ this evening

It added: ‘Other important factors include migration changes, such as families moving due to changes in their circumstances and working patterns, along with the localised effect of the UK leaving the EU in some areas.’ 

It comes as some parents have today taken to social media to slam councils running the allocations after a series of websites were plagued with technical issues. Including Reading Council’s whose website said a ‘critical incident’ had been declared.

Early indications from a PA news agency survey of local authorities suggest that a youngster’s chances of winning a place at their preferred school varies significantly depending on where they live.

The survey, sent to councils across England, excluding London, suggests that a number of local authorities have seen a fall in the proportion of children receiving their first choice compared with last year.

Early figures, from 33 councils which provided comparable data, show that 18 have seen a decline in the proportion of pupils getting their first preference, 14 have seen a rise and one has seen no change.

In Liverpool, only 67.2 per cent of children got their first preference, while in Birmingham 71.68 per cent got their top choice.

Some local council websites were plagued with technical issues, including Warwickshire and Reading Councils 

Among the areas where high proportions of pupils have obtained their first preference are Wiltshire, where 95.05 per cent got their top choice, and Wakefield where 93.6 per cent also were offered their first pick. 

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 extra pressure on secondary admissions this year as the pupil population bulge that has been moving through primary schools is currently hitting secondary schools. Many schools are particularly oversubscribed, especially in certain areas of the country.’

Parents in Leicestershire said they had to check the portal ‘several times’ to find out whether their child had received their first choice of secondary school, but no results were displayed. The issue was later resolved.

England’s school system has been put under pressure in recent years as a population bulge has been moving into secondary schools.

A county council spokesperson said: ‘Following a technical issue this morning, parents can now access the online portal to see information about their child’s secondary school place.

‘We apologise for any inconvenience that may have been caused.’

Meanwhile, a Warwickshire County Council spokesperson said they were ‘aware that some parents and carers have had problems with links to our website today’ and apologised to those affected.

They added: ‘However, our parent portal system itself is working well and we’ve had over 1,000 places accepted before 10am this morning.

‘We’d like to reassure any parents or carers that these technical difficulties will not affect their school offer and they have until 15 March to accept their place.’

Some parents reacted to their children’s secondary school places, with some rejoicing that they had been offered their first choice.

Others were not as jovial and vowed to appeal the decision after their child did not get their first choice

Parents also used social media to react to the placements, with some rejoicing that they had been offered their first choice. 

One said: ‘Good luck to all kids receiving their secondary school places today, my daughter got first choice she’s happy so we are happy.’

Another commented: ‘Stressful morning with a happy outcome: my eldest got her first choice of secondary school.’

A third parent posted: ‘Woken up to an email saying that P has been offered a place at our first choice secondary school. Very excited, a little relieved, but mostly still in denial that my baby is off to secondary school!’

However, others were not as jovial and vowed to appeal the decision, with one parent saying her child had been given his third choice, a 40-minute walk away from their home.

The parent said: ‘Waiting for my youngest get up, to tell him he didn’t get his 1st or 2nd choice secondary school.

‘1st choice is the closest school (10 min walk), and no roads to cross. The school he is going to – a 40 minute walk, several major roads to navigate. Let the appeals process start.’

England’s school system has been put under pressure in recent years as a population bulge has been moving into secondary schools. 

It comes as a report found the majority of secondary schools in England do not prioritise poorer children in their admissions policies.

Some families are ‘priced out’ of oversubscribed schools due to higher property prices around the school as local pupils are often given priority, according to research by the University of Bristol.

Only a small minority of secondary schools prioritise pupils eligible for Pupil Premium support, which is linked to free school meals and used as a measure of disadvantage, when they are oversubscribed, the analysis has found.

England’s school system has been put under pressure in recent years as a population bulge has been moving into secondary schools.

The report, which was funded by the Nuffield Foundation, suggests that using geographical location in school admissions policies can ‘establish or reinforce segregation’ across neighbourhoods as more affluent parents have the resources to ‘buy admission to popular schools’ through the housing market.

The majority of secondary schools in England are academies or free schools, which allows them to set their own admissions criteria for allocating places when oversubscribed, independent of the local authority.

A Department of Education spokesperson said: ‘The vast majority of families will be offered a place at one of their preferred schools and most will be offered their top place.

‘We have already created over one million school places in the last decade – the largest increase in school capacity for at least two generations. We have also announced nearly £530 million to provide both primary and secondary places needed for 2023, and £940m for places needed for 2024 and 2025.

‘Last year, 94.4% of applicants for a secondary school place received an offer from one of their top three choices, while 83.3% were offered their first-choice secondary school.’

Did your child miss out today? Email jamie.phillips@mailonline,co.uk