THE thorny subject of school admissions will go under the microscope at a council scrutiny meeting next week.

A quarter of Year Seven pupils did not start at their first choice secondary school this September, the authority’s figures show.

In March, only 72.5 per cent of children were offered a place at their first choice secondary school, lower than the national average of 84 per cent.

Bradford’s figure rose slightly to 75.5 per cent by September because of the appeals and waiting list processes.

New primary school pupils fared better, with 89 per cent of children getting into their first choice school - a figure which remained virtually unchanged between the national offer day and the start of school in September.

The matter will be discussed by the children’s services overview and scrutiny committee on Tuesday.

Chairman of the committee, Councillor Dale Smith (Con, Wharfedale) said the school admission process was a hugely important, yet complex, issue for parents.

He said in his view, there was more schools could do to explain the various admissions policies clearly to parents before they chose which schools to apply for.

He said: “I think it is bedevilled by lack of understanding, possibly, of what is a practical preference and what is not.

“That is something that certainly interests me and I think will interest the committee, because it is difficult.

“Some of the admission policies for the schools are by postcode, some are random selection, and these things have got to be very clearly understood before a parent puts a preference for a school.”

Cllr Smith said he thought it was important families got clear guidance about how the process worked, and an explanation of the admissions policies of different schools, so “the parent understands what is a realistic choice and what’s not”.

He said: “We do have some applying from across the district for popular schools and clearly the general policy is, the nearer the school, the greater your chance of going to it, so if you are applying to a school which is out of your area it is not likely you will get a place and the parents have got to understand that.

“The whole secret, really, is to make sure every school is a good school, if not an outstanding one, because the choice of school is important to parents and they want the best for their children.”

Back in March, Labour council leader Councillor Susan Hinchcliffe - then the schools boss - said she recognised some parents would be left disappointed but that there were significant challenges to providing secondary school places in the district.

She said local authorities were no longer able to build new schools, which increased the scale of these challenges.

A report going before the committee on Tuesday also reveals that the admissions system dealt with 6,503 applications for a school place part-way through the academic year.

This included applications for 938 children who were new to the UK, 950 children who were new to Bradford and 455 children who were returning to Bradford.

It also included 1,303 children who were moving from one part of the district to another, 526 children who were finding it difficult getting to their current school and 693 children whose families had ‘issues with the school’.

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