Parents warned more Herts pupils will miss out on first-choice school

Today is national offers day and The Good Schools Guide predicted that the first choice success rate across Herts will drop.

Last year, 79.4 per cent of Herts pupils were offered a place at their first choice school and 9.7 per cent were offered their second choice.

That means one in 10 pupils had to settle for their third choice school or worse.

Bernadette John, a director at The Good Schools Guide said: “We speak to parents every year who are disappointed and angry with the school offers their children have received.

“Families are complicated and there can be many reasons why a school is not a good fit for a child. It is not always ambitious parents eager for places at the most academic school.

“Challenging the decision can work but parents have to build a compelling case and provide documented grounds.

“Across the country we see about a 20 per cent success rate when parents do decide to appeal.”

Across the UK last year, 84.1 per cent of pupils were offered a place at their first-choice school.

That was put down to there being 14,692 more applicants (a 2.8 per cent increase) than there was in 2015.

For parents who are disappointed with their school offer but uncertain what to do next, there is information available at www.goodschoolsguide.co.uk