Thomas Telford School is one of the most sought after in the country, new figures show today. The school, in Telford, takes a large number of pupils from Wolverhampton each year.
It is one of the most successful comprehensive schools in the country, appearing near the top of GCSE and A-level tables every year. Such is its success that it receives almost seven times more applications than there are places. A Birmingham school is named as top of the UK’s most wanted list, with parents sending 16 times more applications than there are places.
The Al-Hijrah, a Muslim school in Bordesley Green, has emerged as the most sought-after in the country in the first comprehensive analysis of popular state secondaries.
King Edward VI Handsworth in Birmingham comes third in the table with nine pupils fighting for every place.
Figures from 78 local authorities show the problems facing families who are filling in school preference forms, with more than half the schools in each council area oversubscribed.
It reveals the true scale of the scramble for places, painting a picture of widespread discontent with the secondary school system.
The figures are published just a week after Gordon Brown admitted that only a minority of pupils achieve the basic qualifications at nearly a quarter of the country’s 670 secondary schools. By contrast, GCSE results at the Al-Hijrah are in the top 20 for the area.
Margaret Morrissey, spokeswoman for the Confederation of Parent Teacher Asso ciations, said: “These fig- ures show the extent of the problem and every year it becomes more and more difficult. Yet every year parents are criticised for somehow trying to ‘beat the system’. It is soul-destroying.”
Ratios in excess of four applicants for each place were common among grammars, good comprehensives, academies and church schools.
Elspeth Insch, head teacher of King Edward VI grammar, which had 1,156 applications for 128 places, added: “Parents are much more aware of what they are buying into, with league tables and Ofsted reports.”
2 Comments
Gordon Brown I bet hes booked a place already
Makes me feel pleased with myself for getting a place and turning them down. It might be sought after, but it’s not where I would have liked to have spent the past 7 years.
wingnut- doubt Brown has, the headmaster is a Blairite I believe. Either that or he’ll suck up to whoever sits in number 10.