More than 90 per cent of children get place at first choice primary school

Ninety-five per cent of four-year-olds have been offered a place in their first choice primary school for this September.

Published: Tuesday, 16th April 2019

Swindon Borough Council’s School Admissions team have ensured that 95 per cent of children entering Reception class this year will attend their first choice primary school, while 99 per cent will attend one of their three preferences.

Parents will today start to receive emails from the Council, letting them know where their children have been placed for the next academic year.

At 95 per cent, this year’s first preference rate is higher than last year’s, and the overall number of applications received on time was 2,755.

This year the Admissions Team received 98 late applications to date but thanks to their hard work, 68 per cent of those have got their first choice preference.

Priority for places was determined by the admission criteria for the school in question.

Peter Nathan, Swindon Borough Council’s Head of Education, said: “The Admissions Team have done a really great job this year. A lot of planning goes into ensuring that we have enough school places for our children, which has meant expanding schools and building new ones.

“We now have an online system for applications which is more efficient and also saves money. We are never satisfied, however, and we will be working to improve these figures so they are even better next year.”

This September, three new schools will be opening their doors in Swindon for the first time, two of which are primary schools. They are: The Deanery CofE Academy secondary in Wichelstowe, William Morris Primary School in Tadpole Garden Village and Badbury Park Primary School at Badbury Park. It is the first time that this many schools have opened simultaneously.

If parents have any queries regarding secondary school places for this September, they should contact School Admissions at schooladmissions@swindon.gov.uk or the school directly.

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