Nearly a tenth of Year 6 pupils did not get the first choice secondary school they wanted — with 2 schools oversubscribed, figures for secondary school allocations has revealed.
Families found out this week whether their child would move up to the school they requested — for 89.5% of families it was good news as their child was allocated to attend their first choice of secondary school. However, more than 250 pupils did not get their first choice of school and were placed in either their second or third choice and 2.5% of pupils were not successful with their preferences.
Figures released by the Isle of Wight Council show 12 children had to accept their third choices.
2 schools — Carisbrooke College and The Island Free School — were oversubscribed in their first choice preferences. The Island Free School received more than 80 extra applications than they could take — 202 pupils put the school as their first choice but only 125 were offered a place.
All those who put Christ the King College, The Bay CE Academy and Medina College as first choice were offered a place.
3 schools lowered the number of pupils they would accept, compared to last year, by at least 30 pupils in each establishment.
4 Island schools filled their allocated number of spaces for the September 2020 intake — Carisbrooke, Cowes, Ryde and The Bay.
Christ the King has nearly 50 empty spaces, even though it saw a rise in the number of families applying as a first choice.
The biggest Island secondary school, Ryde Academy, allocated places to 97% of pupils who listed it as first choice.
Most of the 43 pupils who did not apply for a place at secondary school were allocated to Medina.
An Isle of Wight Council spokesperson said:
“All children are offered a place. If parents’ preferences could not be met, including when only one preference is named, then they are allocated a place for their child at the nearest school with places available.
“Those who made an application after the closing date were allocated a place at their preferred school if a place was available. If not, a place was allocated at the nearest school with a space.
“When an application is refused, parents are offered the opportunity to appeal to an independent appeal panel.
“The council’s school admission teams provides advice for families who may need to follow this process.”
The figure of pupils who did not get their first choice of school include families who put in their applications after the deadline, those who made no application and were allocated a place and those with education, health and care plans.
The number of pupils who were given their second or third choices was 125.
