Brighton and Hove parents save taxpayers thousands by applying for school places online

A campaign to persuade parents to apply for school places in Brighton and Hove online has saved thousands of pounds of taxpayers’ money.

More than 80 per cent of secondary school applications this year were made online rather than on paper, according to Brighton and Hove City Council.

The figure compares to just 10 per cent last year.

The trend is similar for primary school places.

The council has been able to save money by giving parents a leaflet telling them how to apply online rather than the full admissions brochure.

The brochure is still sent to parents if they ask for it.

Some schools helped by making computers available for parents to use.

The council’s cabinet member for children and young people, Councillor Vanessa Brown, said: “Applying online is quicker than filling in a form and parents find out the school they are allocated on the day decisions are sent out rather than having to wait for a letter to come in the post.

“Receiving applications online has also saved us thousands of pounds in printing and administration costs.

“So this is not just great news for us and for local parents, it’s also great news for all our council taxpayers.”

The deadline for parents to send in applications for primary school places for next year is Friday 14 January 2011.