Kent children and parents discover secondary school places
Comments |
by political
editor Paul Francis
Eight out of 10 children have been offered a place at their
first choice secondary school in Kent this year, a small increase
on last year.
Thousands of 10 and 11-year-olds are finding out today the
outcome of their applications for secondary school places.
But a computer glitch meant a number of parents were able to
find out sooner than expected after several were able to access a
website notifying them of their applications a day earlier.
County education chiefs say just over 80 per cent of children -
12,725 pupils - will be going to the school they most wanted in
September compared to 78.5 per cent last year.
A further 11 per cent were allocated a place at their second
preference, some 1,753 children.
Just under four per cent - 620 children - did not receive a
place at any of the four schools they opted for and were allocated
a school by the council.
Around 17,500 applications were processed this year with 15,890
coming from Kent families.
But as in previous years, the scramble for places at the most
heavily over-subscribed schools has resulted in disappointment for
some.
The eight most popular schools were all non-selective, with
Homewood School in Tenterden top of the list.
KCC said about 100 children who passed the 11-plus had not at
this stage been offered a grammar school place.
It follows concerns raised last year when some children were
offered places at the county’s selective schools miles away from
their homes. In one case, a student from Sevenoaks was offered a
grammar place at a school in Folkestone.
Cllr Sarah Hohler (Con), KCC cabinet member for children's
services, said that did not mean those children would not
eventually be offered a grammar school place.
"Last year, parents told us they did not like being offered a
place that involved a long journey. This does not mean we have no
available places at grammars, but for now we have allocated a place
at a wide-ability school which is much nearer to their home."
There has also been a fractional increase in the number of
out-of-county applicants being offered places. About a third of the
1,500 from outside Kent who sought places have been offered
one.
Cllr Hohler urged parents who had not got the result they wanted
not to panic.
She said: "This is just the beginning of a long process and it is
bound to happen because our schools are generally very popular.
"The first thing to do is for parents to look carefully at what
they have been offered, visit the school and get a feel for it. If
the parents are still not happy they can join the waiting lists for
their preferred schools and appeal. There is a substantial shake
down of places by September."
Kent County Council will send out emails to parents who applied
online later today at about 4pm while those who applied by post
will receive letters either Tuesday or Wednesday.
For information on how to appeal, go to the
KCC website. Parents can also contact the council on
01622 696565 or speak to a choice adviser on
01622 694073 or 01622 694065.
Monday, March 01 2010
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