More than 90 per cent of Year 6 pupils have been offered a place in their first choice secondary school for this September.

Swindon Borough Council’s School Admissions team have worked extremely hard to ensure that 91 per cent of students in Swindon will attend their first choice secondary school this year, while 99 per cent will attend one of their three preferences.

Parents of Year 6 pupils across Swindon who applied on time will start receiving emails today, letting them know where their children have been placed for the next academic year.

The respective 91 and 99 per cent figures are the same as last year, despite the fact that the Admissions team this year received 2,788 applications – 150 more than 12 months ago.

The 91 per cent figure is all the more encouraging due to the fact that some secondary schools were significantly oversubscribed for first choice places.

Councillor Mary Martin, Swindon Borough Council’s Cabinet Member for Children and School Attainment, said: “Ensuring students get the secondary school places they want is a difficult task, especially when dealing with such a large number of applications.

“However, it’s greatly to the credit of the Admissions team that, year on year, they are able to get persistently high numbers of pupils into their top choice school.

“I would like to issue a big thank you to the team and I am sure they will continue to get good results for parents and pupils in Swindon.”

This September, three new schools will be opening their doors in Swindon for the first time. They are: The Deanery CofE Academy in Wichelstowe, William Morris Primary School in Tadpole Garden Village and Badbury Park Primary School at Badbury Park. It is the first time that this many schools have opened simultaneously.

If parents have any queries regarding secondary school places for this September, they should contact School Admissions at schooladmissions@swindon.gov.uk or the school directly.