Co-ordinated admissions system sees less families disappointed
Nearly 90% of local parents have received an offer of a place for their child at one of their chosen secondary schools and nearly 80% have been offered their first or second choice of school.
This is the third year that all 33 London boroughs and six local authorities bordering the capital have worked together to co-ordinate admissions to their secondary schools for children moving up from primary school in September.
All parents fill in a common application form, obtained from the borough in which they live, and apply for up to six state schools - in or out of their borough - ranking the schools in their preferred order.
The system means that more parents receive a single offer of a place at one of their preferred schools earlier - and fewer are left without an offer. All offers are sent out on the same day across London.
Schools, including church schools, still apply their admissions criteria to decide who to offer places to - but, instead of some schools offering places direct to parents, all schools work through their local education authorities so that parents get the best single offer possible.
Under the old system some parents could hold on to more than one offer while they made their mind up about which to accept - which meant it took longer for free places to be released into the system. Co-ordinating admissions across London eliminates this problem.
Cllr Antony Lillis, cabinet member for children's services, said, "This is an anxious time for parents whose children are transferring to secondary school but co-ordinating admissions helps to deliver school places more quickly and fairly. All parents who are without an offer at this stage have received a letter from our school admissions staff explaining their situation and giving contact numbers for them to call for further advice and support."
Secondary admissions - 2007 figures:
March 16, 2007