Most Oxfordshire children get first choice of secondary school for next year

Oxfordshire County Council says almost 89 per cent of applications have been awarded their first choice. A total of 97 percent have been offered one of the four choices they listed on their application.

The county is ahead of national averages. Oxfordshire’s tally of almost 89 per cent compares with national averages for first choice offers in recent years which were 2015/16 - 84.2 per cent; 2016/17 - 84.1 per cent; 2017/18 - 83.5 per cent; 2018/19 - 82.1 per cent and 2019/20 - 80.9 per cent.

Councillor Lorraine Lindsay-Gale, Oxfordshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Education and Cultural Services, said: “Our school admissions team have done an excellent job in ensuring that so many parents and children have been offered their first choice. I am grateful to them for the hard work they’ve done.

“Although the 2020/21 national average will not be published for a few months, we are very likely to be ahead of that yet once more in Oxfordshire – as we have been in all previous years. Our aim as a council is to give every child a good start in life and our school admissions team play their part in that year in, year out.”