Are you wondering whether your child stands a chance of getting into their chosen school?
We've compiled an interactive guide, using Department for Education data, that enables you to search your local secondary and primary schools to see just how oversubscribed they are.
Our research revealed that two-thirds of parents didn’t get their first choice of a place at one Birmingham school last year.
Read more - 10 tips on choosing the right school and how to help your child settle in
Exclusive figures show just 35 percent of those who put Eden Boys’ School in Perry Barr as their first choice secondary secured a place last September.
Want to know how many applications there were for a place at a school in your area? Use our interactive Race for a Place guide to see how many families were successful in applying this September:
The Royal School in Wolverhampton was the hardest secondary school to get into in the whole of the UK, with just 10 percent of those who put it as a first preference getting a place.
In Birmingham, Eden Boys' School was the toughest to gain entry to - with 2.5 first preference applications for each of the 124 places offered - 313 in total. Of those who put the school as their first pick, only 111 were successful.
Including second and third preferences, there were 7.5 applications for each offered place, with seven second preferences and just three third preferences being successful in securing places.
King Edward VI Camp Hill School for Boys was the next hardest secondary school to get into in Birmingham, with just 36 percent of those who put it as a first preference being offered a place.
There were 2.8 first preferences for the school, a total of 335, for each of its 121 places offered.
We chat to a headteacher about how to choose the right school for your child, and what to do if your chosen school is oversubscribed or has had a negative Ofsted rating. Listen to the Brummie Mummies podcast here
And, when it came to primary schools, St Peter’s Catholic Primary School in Bartley Green was the hardest to secure a place in Birmingham.
The school had 2.1 first preferences for each of the 30 places offered, with just 46 percent of those who put the school as their first choice actually being offered a place.
Overall, the primary school was put down as a preference 144 times, with one second and no third preferences being successful.
Cromwell Junior and Infant School saw 56 first preferences for 30 places offered - 1.9 per place - with just 50 percent of parents who put it as a first choice getting a place.
The data comes from the Department for Education and is based on figures from National Offers Day, so data held directly by individual schools may differ, for example, because late applications were included.
Now that children have started their new September term, applications for places for those set to start primary or secondary school next September are beginning to open.
The application deadline for primary schools is January 15, 2022.
Schools with lowest proportion of successful first preferences
Eden Boys’ School, Perry Barr (secondary)
Places offered: 124
Number of first preferences: 313 (35.5%)
Number of first preferences to places: 2.5
All preferences: 929
All preferences to places: 7.5
King Edward VI Camp Hill School for Boys, Kings Heath (secondary)
Places offered: 121
Number of first preferences: 335 (35.8%)
Number of first preferences to places: 2.8
All preferences: 811
All preferences to places: 6.7
Eden Girls’ Leadership Academy, Bordesley Green (secondary)
Places offered: 125
Number of first preferences: 291 (39.5%)
Number of first preferences to places: 2.3
All preferences: 729
All preferences to places: 5.8
St Peter’s Catholic Primary School, Bartley Green (primary)
Places offered: 30
Number of first preferences: 63 (46%)
Number of first preferences to places: 2.1
All preferences: 144
All preferences to places: 4.8
The University of Birmingham School, Selly Oak (secondary)
Places offered: 153
Number of first preferences: 256 (46.9%)
Number of first preferences to places: 1.7
All preferences: 1623
All preferences to places: 10.6
King Edward VI Aston School, Aston (secondary)
Places offered: 139
Number of first preferences: 109 (47.7%)
Number of first preferences to places: 0.8
All preferences: 920
All preferences to places: 6.6
Eden Boys’ Leadership Academy, Alum Rock, Birmingham East (secondary)
Places offered: 124
Number of first preferences: 241 (47.7%)
Number of first preferences to places: 1.9
All preferences: 614
All preferences to places: 5
Nishkam High School, Hockley (secondary)
Places offered: 101
Number of first preferences: 190 (47.9%)
Number of first preferences to places: 1.9
All preferences: 921
All preferences to places: 9.1
King Edward VI Five Ways School, Bartley Green (secondary)
Places offered: 180
Number of first preferences: 306 (48%)
Number of first preferences to places: 1.7
All preferences: 1241
All preferences to places: 6.9
Cromwell Junior and Infant School, Nechells (primary)
Places offered: 30
Number of first preferences: 56 (50%)
Number of first preferences to places: 1.9
All preferences: 121
All preferences to places: 4
Did your child get their chosen school place? Get in touch by emailing zoe.chamberlain@reachplc.com
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