600 pupils in school bid misery

More than 600 children in the city and county have failed to get into their preferred secondary school for the next school year, starting in September.

Competition for state schools means one in eight 11-year-olds in Leicester has been left disappointed.

The figures reveal the huge imbalance in the popularity of schools, with some vastly over-subscribed and others with many empty places.

So few children want to go to Riverside College, in Rowley Fields, Leicester, that the city council has questioned its long-term future.

The Leicester Mercury revealed last month that only 29 children applied for 180 places.

Jules Sutton applied for a place for her son at Riverside, where his two brothers already study, but has been offered the chance to send him somewhere else because of the uncertainty.

She said: "For any parent who doesn't get into the school of their choice, for whatever reason, it's very upsetting.

"Parents want to fight for the school they want their children to go to. I pray he'll be able to have his education at Riverside.

"Sometimes, I think parents don't get enough accurate information about which secondary schools are available after the junior school because, wrongly, they have a stigma."

In the city, six schools were over-subscribed: Beaumont Leys School; Crown Hills College; Judgemeadow College, in Evington; Moat College, in Highfields; Rushey Mead School, and Soar Valley College, in Rushey Mead. Judgemeadow saw 728 parents name it among their three preferences, although only 240 places were available.

However, three schools, Hamilton Community College, Riverside, and Babington College, in Beaumont Leys, have more than 100 free spaces in year seven.

Peter Smith, of Uppingham Road, Leicester, was angry after losing an appeal to get his son, James, into his nearest school, Crown Hills, last year.

He went to Hamilton College instead, three miles from home. This year, his brother will join him there.

Peter said: "You feel discriminated against and angry because you feel you have no option but to do what you are told.

"When I was young, my brothers, sisters and I went to the same local school. We were not shifted here, there and everywhere, and made to pay for transport."

The figures also show that more than one child in 10 from the city will start at a secondary school in a county council area.

Commenting on the Leicester Mercury website yesterday, one person, describing themselves as a teacher from Enderby, wrote: "It is very clear more aspirational parents are removing their children from city schools.

"At our open evening, some parents even said the teachers in city primary schools had recommended our school over the local (secondary) school.

"We also gain many pupils over the course of an average year, usually the result of bullying and low standards."

Trevor Pringle, service director for children and young people's services, said: "Parents in Leicester are invited to express a preference for up to three schools.

"We are pleased that 87.4 per cent have received their first preference, and, when two and three preferences are taken into account, the figure rises to 97.4 per cent.

"While this is above the rate achieved by similar authorities and above the national average, we will always try to improve on our performance."

In total, 12.6 per cent of city children have not got their first choice. In the county, it is 3.7 per cent. Both are better than the 16.8 per cent national average.

In the county, of the 33 schools that accept pupils at 10 or 11 years old, just 11 are full.

The most under-subscribed are Garendon High School, in Loughborough, with 124 applicants for 270 places, and King Edward VII, in Melton, with 48 applicants for 160 places. Many parents who have not been given their first-choice school can appeal to an independent panel. The closing date to make an appeal is March 20.

Last year, there were 264 appeals in the city, with a quarter of parents eventually being given the school of their choice.

A spokesman for Leicestershire County Council said he was happy so many people got their first choice.

He said: "If they have been unsuccessful, I would encourage them to appeal."