Increase in first choice primary school places

The announcement will come as good news to the thousands of youngsters who will begin their schooling in September, as figures released by West Berkshire Council show that 1,681 children, or 95 per cent, received a place at their first school of choice, an 11 per cent rise on last year’s figure of 84 per cent.
A spokeswoman for West Berkshire Council, Joanne Bassett, said that the reason for the high number of first placements was that there were 137 fewer children than the previous year looking for places, combined with an increase in school spaces. However, 23 youngsters were not offered a school of their first, second or third preference.
West Berkshire’s executive for education, Irene Neill (Con, Alder-maston), said: “It is great to see that we were able to offer so many pupils their first choice. The council works hard to achieve this every year, but success is dictated by the number of children entering primary school at any one time.”
There was also an increase in the number of 16-year-olds in continued learning in the district, up by 2.2 per cent, according to figures produced by the Depart-ment of Education.
The scheme Raising the Participation Age, which requires young people to continue learning until the end of the academic year in which they turn 17, comes into effect this year. It will extend to 18-year-olds in 2015. Students can continue learning by undertaking an apprenticeship, attending sixth form or carrying out part-time learning while employed.
Mrs Neill said: “The statistics published are very encouraging. It is good to see that young people in the West Berkshire area are continuing to show enthusiasm and engage well in an economic climate where employment is not always easy to come by.”