Most parents of the upcoming school year’s new primary school starters will know by now which local school their child will begin their educational journey at.
For some, it might not necessarily be the school they had hoped - the one they had put in the number one spot when applying for their child’s place at a state-funded school. But while it might be a little disappointing to miss out on your top pick, hopefully families and children will grow to love their new school, and become a part of its wider community. You’re also not alone in the experience.
Last week, the Government released its latest figures on applications and offers, which showed that 92.6% of children got into their family’s first choice of primary school for the upcoming 2025/26 school year. While this will be great news for most, that means that about seven out of every hundred new primary school pupils either got an offer from another one of their preferred schools, or another option altogether. And with 550,270 families applying for a place for their child at a state-funded primary for the upcoming school year, that equates to more than 38 thousand children.
If your child didn’t get a place at your first choice of school, it’s likely through no fault of your own. The Government says that there can be all sorts of reasons behind this, including local school quality, travel patterns, and the demand for places in your area. Each of this will vary depending on where you live.
We’ve broken the new data down by local authority area, to give parents of primary school-aged children across the East Midlands an idea of what acceptance rates are like in their community. Council areas have been ranked based on the percentage of new starters offered a spot in their family’s first choice of school - and we’ve included the percentage of children offered a place in at least one of their chosen options for each area as well.
Here’s how they did, from those with the highest first choice offer rates, to those with the lowest:
1. Rutland
In Rutland, every single new primary school starter in the coming school year was offered a place at their first choice of school - a rate of 100%. It is worth noting, however, that Rutland is a comparatively small county compared to others in the East Midlands. | gb27photo/Adobe Stock
2. Derbyshire
In Derbyshire, 96.4% of new primary school starters were offered a place at their family’s first choice of school for the upcoming year. Overall, 99.2% received an offer from at least one of the preferred schools they had selected. | robin/Adobe Stock
3. Leicester
In Leicester, 96.1% of new primary school starters were offered a place at their family’s first choice of school for the upcoming year. Overall, 99% received an offer from at least one of the preferred schools they had selected. | dudlajzov/Adobe Stock
4. Nottinghamshire
In Nottinghamshire, 95.8% of new primary school starters were offered a place at their family’s first choice of school for the upcoming year. Overall, 99.4% received an offer from at least one of the preferred schools they had selected. | DVS - Drone Visuals/Adobe Stock