Offer Day 2025: More than 1,500 children in Leeds miss out on first choice secondary school
More than 1,500 children in Leeds missed out on their first choice of secondary school - including almost 600 who failed to secure a place at any of their top three.
On March 3, parents across the city found out whether their youngsters managed to bag a place at their preferred option ahead of the next academic year beginning in September.
But some will have been left disappointed, as figures released by Leeds City Council showed that 16 per cent - or 1,552 - did not get into their first choice. That figure includes 6.1 per cent - or 589 children - who did not get into any of their top three.
However, the data also showed that more Year 6 pupils than last year managed to secure their first choice at a rate of 84 per cent, which equates to 8,181 children. In 2024, this figure was more than 100 less, as 8,070 kids got their first choice.
Meanwhile this year, 756 children were given their second preference of school, which equated to 7.8 per cent of kids. And 207 children, which equates to 2.1 per cent, were given their third preference.
Last year, the number of children that did not get into any of their preferred schools was 624, which is 35 more than this year.
A spokesperson for Leeds City Council said: “It’s good to see the majority of families have been offered one of the schools they listed as a preference on their application, including 84 percent who have been offered their first preference.
“Those families who are unhappy with their offer do have options and have been provided with all the information they need about what to do next. We’ve also made things easier for families who have not been offered their first preference, by automatically adding their children to the waiting lists for their higher preference schools.”