Joy for parents as pupils in the Midlands gain first choice school places

In Staffordshire, 96 per cent of the 6,739 applications saw children placed in parents' first choice school, with 99 per cent given one of their top three.

That ratio means the county topped the national rankings for the fifth year in a row.

In the Dudley area, 88 per cent of pupils were placed in their top choice school, with 96.9 per cent of families awarded one of their top three choices. Nationally, last year just over 86 per cent were allocated their parents' first choice school, with just over 95 per cent getting one of their top three schools.

There was not such good news for parents in Wolverhampton with only 79.2 per cent of 2,783 children gaining a place at their first choice school.

But in the city, 93.4 per cent of children gained a place at one of their three preferred schools.

Parents had letters and emails telling them which school their child would attend in September yesterday. It came after applications closed last October, with nearly nine in ten applicants choosing to apply online in Staffordshire.

Councillor Ben Adams, the county's learning and skills chief, said: "In Staffordshire we have an excellent track record of achieving well above the national average for first preferences, and for top three preferences as a whole.

"We know the admissions process can be quite daunting so we do as much as we can to make the process as easy as possible."

The most popular schools in Dudley were Bishop Milner, Earls High School in Halesowen, Ellowes Hall Sports College in Dudley and Summerhill School in Kingswinford.

Dudley children's services chief Councillor Tim Crumpton added: "The local authority are very pleased – with the admissions team's performance on preferences – and it demonstrates that admission arrangements across the borough are working effectively.

"There will always be an element of disappointment for some families, particularly where they have selected popular schools at some distance from their home. However, whichever school the child attends in Dudley, I am confident that they will be educated to the highest standard."

Wolverhampton's schools chief Councillor Phil Page added: "It is good to see so many Wolverhampton children getting into a school of their preference. Bearing in mind the large number of applications our team dealt with, achieving 95 per cent allocation into one of the five preferred schools is excellent."