Drop in Peterborough pupils offered first choice secondary school

Last year, 85 per cent of pupils received a place at their first preference school, but this figure has now dropped to 83 per cent.

The percentage of pupils being offered one of their top three choices has also dropped from 97 per cent to 95 per cent, while the number of pupils missing out completely on any of their three preferred options has risen from 79 in 2019 to 128 this time around.

This year, Peterborough City Council received a total of 2,763 applications for secondary school places - a slight decrease of 29 compared to the last academic year.

Of the 2,763 applications, 2,298 children were allocated a place at their first preference school.

Jonathan Lewis, service director for education for the council, said: “Once again we have dealt with a high number of applications for secondary school places. As Peterborough is one of the country’s fastest growing cities we are actively working with headteachers to create extra spaces where necessary.

“Secondary school is a big milestone in a child’s life and it’s fantastic to see that a very high percentage of children have again been offered a place at their first preference school. We have also got more parents a preference school compared to previous years.

“We do advise all applicants to use all of their three preferences when applying for a secondary school place and to ensure they include their catchment school as one of their preferences to give them the best possible chance of securing a place.”

Any parents still yet to apply are urged to do so as soon as possible. Visit www.peterborough.gov.uk for details.

Parents who applied online are able to log on to the council’s website from today to find out about their child’s place. Letters and emails will also be sent to all.

Parents have the right to appeal to an Independent Appeal Panel about any offered place. Details of how to appeal are included with the offer letters, on the council website (www.peterborough.gov.uk) and on the applicant’s preferred schools website.

In Cambridgeshire, the county council received nearly 6,700 applications for secondary school places - an increase of 148 compared to the last academic year.

A total of 6,698 applications were received by the deadline of October 31, 2019. Of these, 6,060 (90.5 per cent) resulted in children being offered a place at their first preference school compared to 5,859 last year.

A further 440 children (6.5 per cent) have received the offer of a place at their second or third preference school.