Nearly 95 per cent of West Berkshire children get first place primary school spot

ALMOST 95 per cent of children have been offered a place at their preferred primary school this year.

Parents were told which school their child had been allocated earlier this week, for those starting in reception this September.

West Berkshire Council said it had allocated the first choice primary school in nearly 95 per cent of cases.

Executive member for education, children and young people, Dominic Boeck (Con, Aldermaston) said: “Choosing the right primary school for a child is something parents think about very carefully so I’m delighted that we’ve been able to offer almost all their first choice.

"These are encouraging results which reflect the hard work we put in to match up parents’ choices and local capacity as best as we can.

"We know how important this is to parents. However, it’s also important to us with education being one of our priorities.

"Giving children a place at a preferred school is a great start to their formal education.”

This year 1,675 applications were made by the parents of children starting in September 2021 and of these, 1,581 children were given a place at their first choice school.