It’s that time of year again - kids are back in the classroom, and applications for next year’s school places are opening. It can be a fraught time for many parents, with the quality of education, location of the school and a child’s friendship group all needing to be taken into consideration - and competition for secondary school places has become particularly fierce.
The latest figures from the Department for Education reveal that the problem of oversubscription - where more people put a school down as their first choice than are offered a place - is getting worse.
Nearly two in three secondary schools across the north were oversubscribed this year - the highest proportion since these figures began in 2014/15, and up from closer to half at that time. In one school in the region, fewer than one in every five first-choice applicants were offered a place.
Many of these parents will have ended up sending their child to their second or third choice of secondary. However, nearly 7,000 kids across the north didn’t get into any of their preferred schools last year - the highest number on record.
Annie Gouk, a data journalist who writes local news stories based on statistics for regional papers up and down the country, investigates this race for a place in our oversubscribed schools.
***
The North in Numbers is a Laudable production for Reach. It is presented by Annie Gouk, and produced by Daniel J. McLaughlin.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Dangerous dogs: Attacks and fatalities are on the rise
Fly tipping: A tsunami of waste sweeping the North
Why are fans starting to flock to non-league football in the North?
Mental health: The hidden pandemic
Levelling Up: What it really means for the north
The importance of local news during the pandemic, with Michael Sheen, Jen Williams and Dion Jones
Distilleries: The Northern ginaissance
House prices: High demand, low supply and a frenzied market
Below the breadline: The rising tide of child poverty gripping the North
Data Special: The Sensemaker project
Football: Why does the North produce so many England internationals?
Pets: The rise of puppy love in lockdown
Pubs and bars: The heart of the community, fighting for survival
The North in Numbers - Series 2 Trailer
Breweries
Universal Credit
Football Finance
Knife Crime
Data Special: David Ottewell and Tom Forth
Create your
podcast in
minutes
It is Free
The Modern West
Voices of Misery Podcast
House of Whimsical Terror
Just Dumb Enough Podcast
Stuff You Should Know
Timcast IRL