SURREY offered five out of six applicants their first preference secondary school after demand for places reached a record high.

Around 83.7 per cent were given the school they put first on their list, down from 84.5 per cent last year, and 93.9 per cent were offered one of their top three preferred schools, also down from 94.6 per cent the previous year.

The number applying for secondary school places this September rose by 206 to 11,338 – enough to fill almost seven extra classes.

All Surrey pupils who needed a place got one. Linda Kemeny, Surrey County Council’s Cabinet member for schools, skills and educational achievement, said:

“In a year when we processed a record number of secondary school applications, we’re pleased we were able to offer five out of six Surrey pupils the school they wanted.

“Demand is rising steadily for secondary places in Surrey following an increase in primary numbers but despite this pressure we’ve offered 94 per cent of Surrey pupils one of their top three choices and all who needed a place have been given one.

“We need an extra 11,000 places across the primary and secondary school system over the next five years, but face huge financial challenges keeping pace with growing demand which is why we’re continuing to highlight the need for a fair deal on funding.”

At All Hallows Catholic School, 79 applicants were awarded places as their first preference, five as their second and no thirds.

Farnham Heath End School, offered 64 applicants their first preference, 30 as their second and eight as their third.

While Weydon School recorded 323 first preference awards, zero seconds and one third.

The Good Schools Guide, the leading independent source of information on schools in the UK, had predicted that more than 90,000 children in England would miss out on their first choice school on ‘national offers day’, on March 1.

Bernadette John, a director at The Good Schools Guide said: “We speak to parents every year who are disappointed and angry with the school offers their children have received.

“Families are complicated and there can be many reasons why a school is not a good fit for a child. It is not always ambitious parents eager for places at the most academic school.

“Challenging the decision can work but parents have to build a compelling case and provide documented grounds. Across the country we see about a 20 per cent success rate when parents do decide to appeal.”

For parents disappointed with their school offer but uncertain what to do next, The Good Schools Guide recommends the following:

• Appealing to any of the schools on the original application.

• Accepting the place the applicants child has been offered. However determined they are to find an alternative, if applicants don’t accept this initial offer, they run the risk of their child having no school to go to in September.

• Also once accepting the place, get on the waiting lists for other preferred schools – even schools not on the initial application.

• And take a moment to check out the school in greater detail, by taking a look at its most recent Ofsted report and by checking out last year’s public exam results.