Number of children in Norfolk getting first choice school increases
That's despite an increase in the number of applications this year
Last updated 4th Mar 2022
The number of Norfolk children getting into their first choice of secondary school rose this year, despite an increase in demand for places across the county.
The rise, which was lower than in some other counties, was explained by the Conservative-run county council as a testament to its programme of school-building.
Some 93.9pc of children were admitted into their first choice school, up from 91.3pc in 2021.
The proportion of children having to settle their second-choice was down from 4.8pc to 3.8pc, and those offered only their third-choice down from 0.8pc to 0.3pc.
Those who didn’t receive offers from any of their top three choices were down from 3.1pc to 1.9pc.
There were 9,368 applications for secondary school places in Norfolk this year, compared to 9,044 in 2021.
John Fisher, Norfolk County Council’s cabinet member for children’s services, said: “We want as many local children as possible getting into their preferred school so it is great to see that number increasing.
“These figures are a testament to the work of our admission team who have been working closely with schools across the county, processing over 9,000 applications this year.
“Our ongoing programme of building new schools and extending others to create additional, modern classrooms is clearly fulfilling its aim of reducing the pressure on school places in new and growing communities.”
The increase in demand for school places in Norfolk – a rise of 3.6pc – was lower than in other parts of the country, such as Oxfordshire, up by about 5pc, and Birmingham and Cornwall, which were both up by roughly 8pc.