Thousands of children may not get their choice of primary school due to a shortage of space.
Councils are struggling to cater for rising pupil numbers, due to a baby boom and high immigration.
Consequently, more than 20,000 children may be denied a place at all of their chosen schools listed on their applications this year. This also means that a high number of students will be forced to travel long distances to schools in other areas.
It is said that many local authorities have had to create classrooms in disused buildings, or build extensions to schools to cope with the extra demand.
The Senior partner at consultants Schoolappeals.com, Matt Richards states that he has already received many calls from concerned parents. “It's highly likely there will be a significant number of parents that won't have a place in any school this year, let alone a preferred school. They will be told to travel very large distances- two or more miles- to areas where there is less demand. In a city like London, this could take over an hour and a half.”
In 2014, approximately 77,000 children were unsuccessful in securing a place at their first choice primary school. More than 22,400 missed out on all the primary schools they had applied for and were allocated an alternative on offers day, while 3,700 children initially failed to get a state school place at all. Many children still waited last summer while councils tried to find extra places.
Local Government Association (LGA) projections propose that the pressure will increase this year, adding that for the first time, one in five council areas in England will have more children ready to start school than available places.
