Fewer Peterborough pupils get place at first choice of primary school

Last year 90.7 per cent of pupils got a space in their first choice school. This year the figure is just 88 per cent.

This year, out of the 2,864 applications made on-time, another 7 per cent were offered their second preference and two per cent their third preference.

Parents who have applied for a primary school place on-line were able to log-on from 12.01am today (Monday 18 April 2016) to find out which school they had been offered. They will also be sent an email to the email address they used to applied online with to inform of their offered school.

All parents who applied for a place have also been sent a letter by first class post this morning explaining their offer.

Brian Howard, the city council’s head of schools infrastructure, said: “Peterborough has more children coming through the system and a record number of parents applied on-time for primary school places this year.

“Peterborough has the third fastest growing population in the country and since 2007 we have created more than 5,000 additional school places at our primary school, at a cost in the region of £60million.

“We are currently building a new primary school building on the former hospital site on Thorpe Road and this will allow the current West Town Primary Academy school to relocate to a bigger site creating extra school places.”

Parents who are unhappy with the school place they have been offered have the right to appeal to an Independent Appeal Panel.

Parents will be given details of how to appeal with their offer letter or online.