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 2015/15 academic year, 97.5 per cent of primary pupils and 98.3 per cent of secondary pupils received a place at a school of their preference.
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 2016.
A report – which proposes no changes to the present arrangement, other than a reduction in the number of children at some schools – will be presented to Cabinet on Wednesday 10 February 2016, with councillors asked to approve a continuation of the current system for admissions for the 2017/18 academic year.