Almost 17 in 20 pupils in have been offered their first choice of state secondary school for September, Brighton and Hove City Council said today (Tuesday 1 March).
But more than 1 in 20 will not be going to their first, second or third preference school. In some cases – 147 in total or 5.8 per cent – those pupils, or their parents, failed to submit an application by the deadline.
The total number of children applying for a place in year 7 in September rose from 2,429 last year to 2,517. Of those, 2,115 (84 per cent) were offered a place at their first preference school. Last year the figure was 1,976 (81 per cent).
Five of the ten state secondary schools in Brighton and Hove were oversubscribed on first preferences alone – Dorothy Stringer, King’s School, Varndean, Blatchington Mill and Cardinal Newman Catholic School.
Some 459 pupils put Dorothy Stringer as their first choice but only 330 places were available, making it 39 per cent oversubscribed on first preferences alone.
The King’s School, the Church of England school currently in Portslade, received 124 first choice applications for 100 places, making it 24 per cent oversubscribed on first preferences.
At Varndean, the figures were 304 first choices, with 270 spaces, making it almost 13 per cent oversubscribed on first preferences.
Some 336 pupils put Blatchington Mill down as their first preference, with 300 places available, making it 12 per cent oversubscribed on first preferences.
And 362 pupils listed Cardinal Newman as their first choice, with 360 spaces available.
The five schools are full along with Patcham High which has 215 places available for year 7 children in September.
A number of appeals are expected where pupils have not been allocated to a school of their choice. And some students may not take up their place – if, for example, their parents move to another area.
Two schools received fewer first, second and third preferences combined than places were available – with Longhill receiving 203 applications for 270 places and the Brighton Aldridge Community Academy (BACA) receiving 143 applications for 180 places.
Councillor Dan Chapman, who chairs the council’s Children, Young People and Skills Committee, said: “I am delighted to see a rise in the numbers of parents offered their first preference school. Equally, I feel for parents who weren’t offered any of their preferences.
“The council has a legal duty to have enough school places available across the city as a whole for all residents who request one.
“We have always tried our best to ensure parents are offered a place in their catchment school if they apply for one. However, we have never been able to guarantee this.
“Dorothy Stringer and Varndean have both taken their full number of students this year. They are operating at the limits of their capacity and expanding them further is simply not practical.
