‘Almost all’ Lancashire children get top three primary school place
More than 99 percent of Lancashire children starting primary school this September have been offered a place at one of their three preferred primary schools, new figures show.
The final number receiving a place at one of their trio of preferred options could yet increase further as waiting lists are worked through.
In total, 12,159 children have been granted primary places in the county council area, which excludes Blackpool. Confirmatory emails were sent on Tuesday to families who applied online and an offer letter posted out to those who submitted a paper application.
Families that wish to seek more information about appeals or waiting lists have been given contact telephone numbers and email addresses for Lancashire County Council’s three School Admissions Teams which cover different parts of the patch.
Jacqui Old, the authority’s executive director of education and children's services, said: "We are absolutely delighted to confirm that thousands of youngsters will be attending the school that is their parents' first choice. A young child starting school is such an important life event, so many families will be delighted that their child is going to the school of their choice.
"Our team has worked very hard to process more than 12,000 applications and know that the overwhelming majority of parents will be happy with their placement.
"We are absolutely delighted to confirm that thousands of youngsters will be attending the school that is their parents' first preference. A young child starting school is such an important life event, so many families will be delighted that their child is going to the school of their choice.
"Our team has worked very hard to process more than 12,000 applications and know that the overwhelming majority of parents will be happy with their school offer.
"We also acknowledge that a very small number of pupils have not been allocated one of their preferred schools. Where this is the case, we would encourage parents to talk to their local School Admissions Team about the options open to them."
Further information is available on the Lancashire County Council website, along with details about the appeals process if families have not been allocated one of the schools that they wanted.
In line with a declining national birth rate, there was a slight drop in the number of primary school applications made this year compared with last, when they rose slightly.