One in four miss out on preferred secondary school place

In Sandwell 25.5 per cent of 11 year olds did not get a place at their number one choice of school, while nearly one in 10 did not get one of their top three preferences.

And it was a similar situation in Walsall, where a quarter of applicants did not get their first choice and six per cent did not get one of their top five preferences.

The figures stand in stark contrast to Staffordshire, where 92.5 per cent of parents have been allocated their first preference school, with almost 97 per cent allocated one of their top three preferred schools.

It comes as parents around the country found out where their children had been offered a place on National Offer Day.

In Wolverhampton 78 per cent of pupils were offered their first choice of secondary school.

Dudley Council says that 86 per cent of pupils were offered their first preference, while 96 per cent of parents got one of their top three choices.

It comes as local authorities across the Black Country battle to shore up a continuing shortage of school places.

Children who are not given one of their first three choices are provided with an alternative offer of another school in the local authority area.

Across the country 90,000 pupils are expected to miss out on their first choice school, according to analysis of Department for Education data by The Good Schools Guide.

Staffordshire County Council's cabinet member for learning and skills, Councillor Ben Adams, said: "In Staffordshire we have an excellent track record of achieving well above the national average for first preferences, and for top three preferences as a whole.

"Giving clear guidance, plus working with schools in Staffordshire and in neighbouring authorities, means we can allocate school places efficiently and, in the vast majority of cases, allocate parents one of their top three preferred schools."

Councillor Simon Hackett, Sandwell Council's cabinet member for children's services said: "We've worked hard on making sure we meet demand for school places including opening a brand new secondary school last year.

"We are committed to expand our existing schools to make sure more parents get their preferred choice in the future."

Parents who are unhappy with the school they have been allocated can appeal to an independent panel via each local authority.

But The Good Schools Guide has warned that parents who do not accept an initial offer run the risk of their children having no school to go to in September.

Shadow education minister Angela Rayner said the system for school place planning was broken.

"The Tories' unjustified fixation with free schools means new schools are opening in areas which do not need them and just last week the National Audit Office reported that the Government are not doing enough to ensure all parents can exercise choice when selecting the right school for their children," she said.

The Department for Education said the proportion of parents getting a place at their first choice of school had remained stable, with around 600,000 news places created in the last five years and £23 billion investment pledged up to 2021.