Almost a third of Liverpool children miss out on first choice secondary school places

Early figures from councils indicate that in some parts of the country more than a quarter of families have not been given a place at their first choice secondary school – with almost a third of Liverpool Year 6 leavers missing out.

Hundreds of thousands of families across England received their school places on Monday (March 3), on what is commonly known as National Offer Day.

Findings from a PA news agency survey of local authorities show that, of the 70 councils that gave comparable data, 44 have seen a rise in the proportion of pupils getting their first choice compared with last year, while 24 have seen a fall, and two have seen no change.

In addition, of 63 councils in England that gave information on application numbers, 46 have seen at least a slight fall in applications this year, while only 17 have seen a rise.

Nearly three in 10 children in London missed out on a place at their top choice of secondary school, figures collated by London Councils have shown. The number of applications for secondary school places in the capital fell by 3.1% this year – and London Councils said a falling birth rate has played a part.

Across the capital’s 33 boroughs, 71.6% of families were given their first choice of secondary school this year, compared with 70.5% last year. Greenwich had the lowest proportion of children getting their top choice at 63.82%, and in Lewisham just 63.89% secured their first preference.

Meanwhile outside London, in Liverpool only 69% of children were given a place at their first choice for this coming September - similar to last year’s figures of 69.4%. In Manchester, only 74% got their top choice.

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Among the areas in England where high proportions of pupils have obtained their first preference are East Riding in Yorkshire where 97.8% got their top choice, and Cornwall where 97.58% were offered their first pick.

England’s school system has been put under pressure in recent years as a population bulge has been moving into secondary schools. Pepe Di’Iasio, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL), said: “We know that national offer day is an exciting but also anxious time for many families.

“While most children will receive a place at their first-choice school, we understand that some families will be disappointed. The demand for secondary school places has been rising for a number of years and is expected to increase again this year. However, the impact varies across different areas, with factors like new housing developments influencing local pressures.

“Highly sought-after schools – often in more affluent areas with strong Ofsted ratings – face intense demand, while others struggle with lower pupil numbers, creating financial challenges.”

Paul Whiteman, general secretary of school leaders’ union NAHT, has predicted there will be “too many cases” where a specialist place is the parents’ preference for their child with special educational needs and disabilities (Send) – but they will be given a mainstream school place instead.

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He warned that families face an “unfair postcode lottery” to secure specialist school places for their children with additional needs.

Speaking on National Offer Day, Mr Whiteman said: “There is a lot of pressure on secondary school places at the moment, as we are experiencing a population bulge in that age group that is due to peak in 2026/2027.

“Although the majority of pupils will still get their first choice of secondary school, that doesn’t take away from the difficulty and disappointment experienced by those families who have missed out.

“There is also a concern that overall national figures mask quite big regional variations – there will be areas where the proportion of pupils not getting their first choice of secondary school are much higher.

“This can be due to regional volatility in populations, for example areas with major house building, or places like London where populations are decreasing rapidly.”

Official data shows that, last year, 82.9% of pupils were offered their first choice of secondary school – which was up slightly on 82.6% in 2023.