93% of pupils in Hartlepool get place at first choice secondary school on National Offer Day

Hartlepool Borough Council gave 93% of Year 6 pupils a place at their preferred secondary school on National Offer Day today to start in September.

The figures showed that 5.31% were given places in their second choice school and 0.27% in their third choice school.

There were 16 pupils, which equates to 1.42%, who didn’t gain a place at a preferred school equates so the council offered the nearest school with a place remaining, although the majority of applicants not offered a preferred school only specified one preference.

The total number of on-time applications received this year for secondary school places was 1,129 - compared to 1,075 last year.

Last year 96.19% were given a place in their first choice school, 2.6% second choice and 0.09% third preference.

Council chiefs say there may be some movement when parents either accept or decline the places and the appeal process will take place during May.

Councillor Brenda Harrison, chair of Hartlepool Borough Council’s Children’s Services Committee, said: “The council’s Admissions Team and secondary schools continue to meet an extraordinarily high proportion of parents/carers' first choices of secondary school for a September 2019 start.

“The indicative figure on National Offer Day is that at least 93% of Year 6 children will be starting at their first choice of secondary school in September. No national data is available for this year yet, but the 2018 national figure was only 82%.

"These provisional figures will be subject to slight change following appeals processes in May.

"This is good news for the huge majority of our Year 6 children, and I would like to thank the members of the council’s Admissions Team for the service that they provide.”

In County Durham over 5,000 children will go to their first choice of secondary school this September.

A total of 5,485 applications were made this year, up from 5,162 in 2018, and every single child has been offered a place at a school in the county.

Out of these applicants 5,143 have been successfully placed into their first choice, which equates to 93.8% and overall 98.3% have been placed in their first, second or third choice school.

Coun Olwyn Gunn, Durham County Council’s Cabinet member for children and young people’s services, said: “It is fantastic that the vast majority of children in County Durham will go to their first choice of secondary school in September. I wish them the best of luck for their future education.”

Parents who applied online will be informed of the school place offered via email. Those who applied in other ways will be informed via a letter by Tuesday, March 5.