Four out of five parents get first choice

5.41.58pm GMT Wed 28th Feb 2007

Eighty-three percent of parents will secure their first choice preference of secondary school in Richmond upon Thames, the latest admission figures have revealed.

For the second year in a row, more than four out of five of all first preference applications have been met. The figure is expected to rise further as a number of parents turn down the offer and send their children to private school. Cllr Malcolm Eady, Cabinet Member for Children's Services and Education on Richmond Council, said:

"I am delighted that yet again this year more than four out of five parents will be offered the school they asked for in Richmond upon Thames. We are committed to giving as many parents as possible their first choice. For the small number of families who do not secure their first preference, we can at least guarantee a place in a borough school - most likely in our case, their second choice. This is certainly not the case in many other local educational authority areas and I am very proud of our continued high standards. Those parents who have not secured their first choice still have a chance after March 1, as some of the allocated places will not be taken up by parents who opt to send their children to private schools."