Secondary school places: First preference offers are at a record high in Leeds

Today, Tuesday, families have been notified of their offers after an application process for places which was held last year.

The number of children who have been offered their first preference school is once again the highest it has been in Leeds at 8230 (compared to 7825 last year).

Leeds City Council says it has made 9877 year 7 place offers in Leeds schools for September 2022, a decrease of 15 from the offers made last year.

Coun Jonathan Pryor, Leeds City Council’s deputy leader and executive member for economy, culture and education, said: “I am pleased that we have once again increased the number of young people allocated their first preference school. We have worked hard to increase the amount of secondary provision across the city to ensure Leeds is the best city to live and grow up in. Those who are unhappy with their offer do have other options. Your offer letter contains all the information you need about what to do next.”

The authority added that 8230 children were given their first preference which is 85 per cent compared to 7825 or 80% last year. 765 children were given their second preference which is 7.8 per cent compared to 842 or 8.6 per cent last year. 240 children were given their third preference which is 2.4 per cent and was 312 or three per cent last year.

Fourth preferences were given to 113 children which is one per cent and 128 last year while 35 children were given their fifth preference which is less than one per cent. This was 71 last year.

Of these, 319 did not include a preference for their catchment priority school. Of the 335 placement offers, 198 are offered their catchment priority school, despite not requesting it.

For families that are not happy with the offer that they have received there are next steps that they can take.

Any parent who has not received a preferred offer can send back the waiting list request form by March 15.

This will ensure that their child is placed on the waiting list for their preferred schools at the earliest point and give them the greatest chance of being offered a place there if any become free.

Waiting lists are held in order of the priorities within the admission policy, not first come first served. Families are recommended to include any school where they receive catchment or nearest priority as one of their preferences if they didn’t include this on the initial application.

Families can also request an appeal against any refusal to offer a place. For the appeal to be heard before school starts, it must be submitted by March 29. Appeals requested after this will be heard within 40 school days, but this may not be before the end of term.

A spokesperson for Leeds City Council added: "Appealing can prolong uncertainly for children, so we advise families look at the grounds for appealing as they are only granted in exceptional circumstances.

"Parents need to accept their offer of a school place as soon as possible by contacting the school directly. Parents who wish to decline their offer need to make sure they have another offer, or a plan for how their child will receive education, first."

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