One in five children in the West Midlands failed to get a place at their preferred secondary school this year, official figures today reveal.

Applications by around 62,498 parents of children living in the region were received by local authorities in the area of which 79.6 per cent were offered places at their first choice schools for September. This means 20.4 per cent of children were refused their preferred choice despite new laws to make admissions fairer and stamp out unfair practices.

They can include schools interviewing parents and pupils, or asking for personal information about their familiy backgrounds, and even requesting cash gifts to secure a place.

The results have raised fears that some schools are still using unlawful methods to select pupils from middle-class homes who will be less trouble and easier to teach.

Across the Black Country, only 72.9 per cent of youngsters in Sandwell were offered a place at their preferred secondary school, 73.9 per cent in Walsall and 78.2 per cent in Wolverhampton.

Dudley had the best success rate with 88 per cent of children getting a place at their top choice.

Across Staffordshire, a total of 8,106 applications were made of which 91.9 per cent were offered a place at their preferred school.

Details of the success rates for applications were released by the Department for Children, Schools and Families.

Nationally, around 82 per cent were offered places at their first choice schools.

Education Secretary Ed Balls promised further reforms after officials’ analysis of practices in Northamptonshire, Manchester and Barnet in London revealed some schools were breaking the new Schools Admissions Code.

Practices included asking parents to commit to making financial contributions as a condition of admission and asking about the marital status, occupational or financial status of parents.

Mr Balls said such practices “must stop immediately”.