ALMOST 99 per cent of parents in Swindon who applied for a primary school place have been offered one of their three preferred choices.

Of the 2,706 on-time applications received by Swindon Council, 91 per cent were matched with their first choice – up from 90 per cent last year.

And 98.9 per cent of parents have been given one of their three preferences, compared to 95 per cent last year.

The improved statistics were also achieved despite the local authority receiving more applications this year. Last year 2,610 primary school place applications were received.

A total of 2,297 applications were made online by the deadline of January 15 and parents who did so will receive an email today notifying them of the school place allocated to their child.

Letters have also been sent out to all parents today with the outcome of the application process.

Applicants who submitted their preferences after the deadline were offered a place at the next nearest school with a place available at that time, if their preferred school was oversubscribed at that point. However, the admissions team have been able to offer most late applications their preferred school.

Priority for places was determined by the admission criteria for the school in question.

John Gilbert, Swindon Council’s Board Director for Commissioning, said: “Swindon has established itself as one of the country’s top performing local authorities when it comes to school admissions and I would like to thank our staff for ensuring that so many parents received one of their preferred choices.

“This year’s statistics are also particularly noteworthy as we faced a peak year for applications due to an increase in the birth rate and the need for extra school places. We will be working hard to ensure that we continue to satisfy demand for school places in Swindon in the coming years.”