Councillors are to be asked to approve a continuation of the current admissions arrangements for community and voluntary controlled schools in County Durham.
All admission authorities – which also includes governing bodies for voluntary aided and foundation schools, and the relevant trusts for academies or free schools – must agree their policies on how places are allocated, including what happens if there is oversubscription, on an annual basis.
Under the current system, for the 2016/17 academic year, 93.5 per cent of primary pupils and 96.1 per cent of secondary pupils received a place at their first choice school. The national average is just 88.4 per cent for primaries and 84.1 per cent for secondary schools.
Cllr Ossie Johnson, cabinet member for children and young people’s services, said: “The current admissions system for community and voluntary controlled schools is ensuring that almost all pupils receive a place at a school of their choice and so we would look to continue in the same way for applications from September 2018.
A report – which proposes no changes to the present admission arrangements, other than some minor changes to the number of children at some schools – will be presented to Cabinet on Wednesday 8 February 2017, with councillors asked to approve a continuation of the current system for admissions for the 2018/19 academic year.