Up to 80,000 children may miss out on their first choice of primary school this year, according to a Daily Mail survey of councils. The crisis is driven by a baby boom fuelled by migration, leaving many local authorities at breaking point.
On National Offer Day, more than 600,000 children will receive their primary school allocations. The survey suggests up to one in seven children will miss out on their first choice in some areas, while one in 20 may get none of their preferences. Around 20,000 families are expected to miss out on all of their choices, and several thousand may be offered no place at all.
Professor Alan Smithers of the University of Buckingham warned that the problem could worsen as councils lose powers to create new places due to the increasing number of academies, which are free from local authority control. He said: 'The Government misjudged the issue and is desperately trying to catch up with the rising birth rate.'
Examples of oversubscription include Hull, where 13% missed out on their first choice and 5% got none; Gillshill Primary received 245 first-choice applications for just 60 places. In Essex, 13% missed out, with Hamilton Primary in Colchester receiving 357 applications for 60 places. Sandwell, Worcestershire, Gloucestershire, Leicester, and Ealing also reported high rates of disappointment.
A Department for Education spokesperson said: 'Despite rising pupil numbers, 95.9% of parents in England received an offer at one of their top three preferred primary schools last year. We have spent £5 billion creating places since 2010, with over 100,000 primary places added in 2014/15 alone.'
