ALMOST 28 per cent of 11-year-olds across the district have missed out on a place at their first-choice secondary school this September, latest admissions figures show.

A total of 487 children, equating to 6.5 per cent of the whole cohort of 7,487 pupils, have been allocated a secondary school they indicated “no preference” for, up from 392, or a rate of 5.4 per cent, last year.

The Bradford Council figures show that 5,407 pupils, 72 per cent, will be going to their first preference school at the start of the academic year, down from 5,481, a rate of 75 per cent, in 2015-16.

Nationally, an average of around 87 per cent of applicants received their first preference, according to a survey of more than 50 local education authorities.

Bradford was named among those with relatively low percentages of applicants receiving their first preference, although it wasn’t the lowest.

A total of 874 Bradford-district pupils, or 12 per cent, have been allocated their second choice, with 380 pupils, five per cent, given a place at their third choice school.

Some 227 pupils, equating to three per cent of the total cohort, will attend their fourth choice, while 112 children, or 1.5 per cent, will take their place at the last of the five preferred schools parents and guardians are asked to indicate.

Councillor Susan Hinchcliffe, executive member for education, skills and culture at Bradford Council, said: “While nearly nine out of ten parents will be relieved to know their child has been given a place in a school of their choosing, of course there are parents who will be disappointed.

“We’ve never hidden the challenges that come with providing secondary school places in Bradford district. What increases the scale of the challenge is that local authorities no longer have powers to build new secondary schools.

“The important thing is therefore for us to work with potential sponsors and government, who have the funding to get them to build new schools in the right areas.

“We’re already in regular conversation with the DfE and Regional Schools Commissioner to make sure we have new schools built by 2018. We’re also waiting for news on how much money we’ll be given from government to spend on increasing places in existing schools. Last year, our funding reduced by 93 per cent.”

Bingley Rural councillor Simon Cooke, leader of the Conservative group on the council, said the figures were of “continuing concern”, particularly the downward trend of children missing out on their first preference of school.

“We recognise this is a national problem with pressure on the whole system, but the council continues to not do enough to support ways of developing new places,” he said. “They are not creative or flexible enough, that is our biggest concern.

“The council’s objection to free schools is one example that doesn’t help the crisis, and they need to get with the real world.”