Most children starting primary school this September will be going to their parents’ first choice, according to data released by Devon County Council today (Tuesday 16th April).

Of the 6,863 primary school applications submitted for the September 2024 intake, 97% were allocated their first choice.

Last year 96.7% of the 7,065 applications for primary school places were allocated their first choice.

A further 2.1% of families were offered one of their other primary school preferences. That means 99.1 per cent of applications were successful in achieving one of their three preferred schools; up from 98.8 per cent last year.

‘It is very gratifying that we have been able to enable more families to achieve their first preference school this year and accommodate the vast majority of children in one of their preferred schools,’ says Devon Cabinet member for schools Andrew Leadbetter.