School choice cheer
Parents in Staffordshire have good reason to be cheerful after 97 per cent got their first choice of secondary school for their children this year. Parents in Staffordshire have good reason to be cheerful after 97 per cent got their first choice of secondary school for their children this year. Staffordshire County Council sent out letters yesterday to all parents in the county who applied for secondary school places for September. Education chiefs say the overwhelming majority will open their envelope to find they have been granted the school they hoped for. A total of 10,486 people applied for a Staffordshire secondary school for their child this year and 10,192 of them got their first choice – 97 per cent. Read the full story in the Express & Star.
Staffordshire County Council sent out letters yesterday to all parents in the county who applied for secondary school places for September.
Education chiefs say the overwhelming majority will open their envelope to find they have been granted the school they hoped for.
A total of 10,486 people applied for a Staffordshire secondary school for their child this year and 10,192 of them got their first choice – 97 per cent.
Parents were given until November 3 to apply to the county council for secondary school places.
Since the deadline, the school admissions team has been working with neighbouring local authorities and schools to ensure as many parents as possible receive a place at their preferred school.
Cabinet support member for schools Councillor Carol Dean said their dedication was reflected in the impressive figures.
She said: "A huge percentage of parents in Staffordshire have got their first preference for their child's school.
"This would not have been possible without the hard work and dedication of our school admissions team.
"97 per cent is a really high figure and a large number of parents now have very good reason to be pleased."
Councillor Dean said that, as well as a large number of parents getting their first choice, the council had also been successful in encouraging on-line applications, far exceeding the targets set by central government.
She said: "26 per cent of admissions applications were made on-line, compared to the government target of five to 10 per cent. This is a huge bonus for us, as we encouraged parents to apply on-line wherever possible."
Parents are receiving their letters to find out the results of their admission applications from yesterday onwards. Those parents who applied on-line will be able to find the decision on-line too.
Councillor Dean added: "We hope to see a reduced number of appeals against our admissions decisions this year.
"Last year we received 165 appeals out of a total number of 11,055 admissions applications. That was a relatively low figure anyway, but for 2007-2008 we are hoping for even fewer."
Letters to parents regarding applications for primary school places will be sent out next month, from April 2.
