Every child deserves to go to a great, local school
The Liberal Democrats have called for local councils to be given back control of the school admissions process following new data released today by the Department for Education which reveals that the proportion of pupils getting their first choice of secondary school has fallen for the sixth year in a row.
Liberal Democrat Education Spokesperson Layla Moran said:
“Rising pupil numbers and a fragmented schools system means that more and more children are missing out on their first choice of secondary school.
“Local councils have a duty to ensure that every child has a school place, but are powerless to deliver it. Academies control their own admissions policies while Conservative Ministers have banned councils from sponsoring new schools.
“The Tory party’s obsession with academies has created chaos in the education system yet has brought few educational benefits.
“Liberal Democrats would hand back control of the admissions process and school places planning to elected local councils, so that every child can go to a great, local school.”
The proportion of pupils made their first preference offer can be found below.
| Secondary Schools | |
| Entry into academic year | % made 1st preference offer |
| 2010/11 | 83.2 |
| 2011/12 | 84.6 |
| 2012/13 | 85.3 |
| 2013/14 | 86.7 |
| 2014/15 | 85.2 |
| 2015/16 | 84.2 |
| 2016/17 | 84.1 |
| 2017/18 | 83.5 |
| 2018/19 | 82.1 |
| 2019/20 | 80.9 |
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