Across the country
When we look at demand across the country , we find that London had the highest proportion of oversubscribed schools and one of the lowest rates of undersubscription . Seven in 10 ( 69 %) school leaders in the capital told us that their school had to turn down applications , and almost a quarter ( 23 %) of these schools received between 91 % and 100 % more applications than they could satisfy .
That said , almost two in 10 ( 16 %) school leaders nationally say they received fewer applications for places than they could accommodate – for example , almost one in five schools in the south west and the midlands stated this was the case in their region . On the whole , undersubscription is more common in secondary schools , with more than a quarter ( 26 %) of secondary school leaders reporting this to be the case compared to 14 % of primary school leaders .
Percentage of school leaders , by region , who say they received more applications than places :
49 %
North East *
60 %
Yorkshire and Humberside
66 % 59 %
For primary schools in particular the pressure doesn ’ t end with the application numbers . Almost half ( 45 %) of primary school leaders have had to respond to upset parents whose children didn ’ t get their first-choice placement at the school , compared to one in five leaders in secondary schools ( 20 %).
North West
54 %
East of England
69 %
We are oversubscribed and plans are in place to help for the next two years . We are already up to 590 pupils which creates a problem in old Victorian premises - like getting a quart into a pint pot .”
Governor
Midlands
52 %
South West
London
61 %
South East
* Please note that fewer than 100 respondents from the north east completed the survey . Findings for this region should be treated with caution .
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