ALMOST three quarters of parents in the Bradford district have been award their first preference secondary school, figures from Bradford Council have revealed.

In the district, 73.94 per cent of parents were allocated their first choice, up from 72.22 per cent in the last academic year.

The number of children allocated secondary school places for 2017/18 has also risen to 7,672, compared with 7,487 in 2016/17.

Slightly more than ten per cent received their second choice, with 6.74 per cent - or 517 pupils - receiving a place that was against their preferences.

This year, 92 per cent of applications were made online, up by 20 per cent from last year.

Councillor Imran Khan, executive member for education, employment and skills, said:  “I am pleased to see that the number and percentage of Bradford pupils getting into their first choice of secondary school has increased compared with last year.

“This is despite an increased number of applications for places in 2017/18.

“From September almost nine out of ten pupils will be going to one of their first three choices of secondary school and 93 per cent have been allocated one of their five choices.

“We know that choosing a school for their child is one of the most important decisions a family can make. Bradford Council and schools do all they can to ensure parents have the best chance of getting into a school of their choice.

“Bradford Council is delivering a programme of secondary school expansions across the district based on the forecast demand for pupil places.

“As far as is possible the Council is co-ordinating this programme with the Department for Education’s plans for new Free Schools to ensure pupil places are created in areas where there is demand.”

Nationally, the number of parents getting their first choice school has dropped, with more than half of Councils across the country recording a drop in the proportion of 11-year-olds getting their preferred secondary school, compared to the previous year.

Richard Watts, chair of the Local Government Association's children and young people board, said: "Creating an extra 300,000 primary places over recent years is a demonstrable record that councils are doing everything they can to rise to the challenge of ensuring no child goes without a place.

"However, as children move on to secondary schools, the majority of which are now academies, councils are working with one hand behind their backs to help as many as possible receive a place at their first-choice school.

"If they are to meet the demand for secondary school places, then existing academy schools should be made to expand where required, or councils should be given back the powers to open new maintained schools."

Justine Roberts, chief executive of parenting website Mumsnet, said: "School place allocation is all about where you live, and parents' experiences differ accordingly.

"In a survey of our users last year, 56 per cent reported not having a 'real' choice when it came to schools their children had a realistic chance of getting into; in areas where popular schools are over-subscribed, Mumsnet users report finding the process pretty darned stressful.

"What people want is real choice, effective around the country. We can't have that without more investment in schools."

A DfE spokesman said: "The proportion of parents getting a place at their first choice of school remains stable, and last year almost all parents got an offer at one of their top three preferred schools.

"Nearly 600,000 additional pupil places were created between May 2010 and May 2015, and the Government is now pushing ahead with the creation of a further 600,000 new school places as part of its wider £23 billion investment in the school estate up to 2021."

Have you been successful in getting the school place you wanted, or have you missed out? Let us know by emailing newsdesk@telegraphandargus.co.uk.