Almost 1,000 children across the Isle of Wight have found out which primary school they will be attending come September today (Tuesday). The allocation of Isle of Wight primary school places has been announced, with 99.4% of Island parents gaining a school of their choice. This year, 96.9% of applications achieved a place at their first choice school. Every child for which an application was submitted to the council received a school place, with a total of 998 applications received – compared to 1,024 in 2023. The percentage of applications achieving a second choice was 2.3% (2.8% last year) and 0.1% received their third choice (0.2% last year). Just 0.7% of applications were allocated a place at the nearest school with a place when the authority was unable to meet any of their parent’s preferences. The figures above include all applications that were received on time and those children with an Education and Health Care Plan, but not those who applied late. Councillor Jonathan Bacon, Cabinet Member for Children’s Services, Education and Corporate Functions, has said:
“I am delighted the vast majority of applicants gained a place at one of their preferred schools, with most getting their first choice and all children being offered a place. “Starting their primary education will be the beginning of a new journey for our young people and as they settle in and make new friends, it will be an exciting time as we develop and improve education on the Island.”
Delighted for the 96% who are allocated their first choice. But what about the remaining 25% of students who don’t?