Merseyside borough is eighth most competitive area for secondary schools in England

New research has revealed that a Merseyside borough is one of the ‘most squeezed ‘locations in England for secondary school places. The ratio of students to schools is one of the most skewed in the country, meaning competition for places is very high.

The news comes with the deadline for secondary school applications looming. Parents of children due to start Year 7 in September 2024 have until 11.59pm on October 31 next week to submit their requests.

The latest government statistics show that in the 2021/2022 academic year, 23% of secondary schools in England were either at or over capacity.

To find out which areas have the biggest competition for school places, education software specialist The Access Group, compared the latest Census demographic data and local authority school listings to work out the number of potential pupils per school for all locations in England.

Knowsley was ranked eighth in the top 10 ‘most squeezed’ locations, with 13 schools and 1,896 children moving up to secondary education in the next academic year. Equating to 145.8 children per school, this means a number of children will not get places at their first choice institutions.

Ten ‘most-squeezed’ local authorities in England

1. Kingston upon Hull - 168.7 children per school
2. Barking and Dagenham - 166.5 children per school
3. Swindon - 152.1 children per school
4. Sandwell - 149.9 children per school
5. Redbridge - 148.5 children per school
6. Thurrock - 146.8 children per school
7. Milton Keynes - 146.5 children per school
8. Knowsley - 145.8 children per school
9. Lewisham - 145.8 children per school
10. Barnsley - 144.7 children per school