One in five children in the Royal Borough turned away from their first-choice secondary school

ONE in five school children are being turned away from their first-choice secondary school according to shock figures.

Just 79.4% of Royal Borough children were offered a place at their preferred school on last month's national offer day - the sixth-worst figure in the country outside London.

The Royal Borough also failed to find places for one in 20 children at any one of their six choices, with the borough's figure of 94.8% the third-worst percentage nationally outside the capital.

Of those 5.2% without an offer, less than half have been found a replacement school. Only five local authorities in the country have a worse percentage of assigning schools to those that missed out on their initial choices.

Councillor Phillip Bicknell, Royal Borough lead member for children's services, said: "There's a lot of competition because our schools are very good - 85% of our schools are good or outstanding.

"I'm always concerned when parents don't get the schooling of their choice, but it is a small number and hopefully we'll be striving to get any child that missed out [on a place] a suitable replacement.

"In the main we do a pretty good job."

Margaret Lenton, a member of Churchmead CofE Secondary School's interim executive board and a governor at Wraysbury Primary School, said that Royal Borough parents often had a 'stuffy' attitude to school places and would apply for unrealistic admissions.

She added: "If you are middle class and articulate, you get what you want. Those who aren't articulate and don't have enough money - they're the ones that suffer."

Both Cllr Bicknell and Mrs Lenton acknowledged a shortage of secondary school places, although statistics showed that 1,056 children from the Royal Borough applied for places and that 1,272 places were available within the borough.

According to the Department for Education stats, released last month (26/3), just 79.8% of Royal Borough children have been offered a place in the borough - the third-lowest figure in the country outside London, although parents were able to apply for places elsewhere.

Cllr Bicknell said certain schools crossed catchment areas with other boroughs, such as Churchmead in Datchet and Charters in Sunningdale, while Mrs Lenton said many children outside the Royal Borough applied to Windsor Girls' School.

Mrs Lenton added there was generally 'a massive amount of movement across Berkshire', and that London and the south east were different to the rest of the country in terms of moving between boroughs.

She also believes the introduction of state-funded academies and free schools has complicated applying and issuing places, while 20% of Royal Borough children are educated independently of state schools - the highest figure for any local authority in the country.

Asked about the complexity of managing the Royal Borough's admissions, Cllr Bicknell said: "I don't think anything is particularly difficult, but it's a scheme that needs some working out year on year.

"Statistically, you put it up against the rest of the country, but we do have the biggest independent schooling for children - we are unique, we know we are unique, and overall we are the best."

Children across England were offered secondary school places during national offer day on March 1.