OVER 97 per cent of children in North Somerset will be offered a place at one of their top three preferred secondary schools from this September.

Pupils will receive their offers today (Friday, March 1).

In North Somerset, 2,561 secondary school applications were received in total for the academic year ahead.

2,345 students (91.57 per cent) will be offered a place at their first choice school, whilst 133 students (5.19 per cent) will be offered their second preference.

29 young people (1.13 per cent) will receive an offer for their third choice school.

54 students will be offered a place at a school outside of their first three preferences.

If you applied for your child's school place online, you will be emailed with an offer. Those who applied via a paper form will receive an offer either by email or in the post in the coming days.

Councillor Catherine Gibbons, North Somerset Council’s deputy leader and executive member for Children’s Services, Families and Lifelong Learning, said: “I’m thrilled to see that almost all our young people in North Somerset were offered a place at one of their top three secondary schools. 

“Processing thousands of applications and trying to match as many children as possible with their preferred schools is a significant task. I’d like to thank our council officers and our schools for all their hard work in making this possible.

“We wish all the young people starting secondary school this September the best of luck in this exciting new chapter.”

If you are a parent or carer of a child who was not offered one of their top three secondary school preferences, you can appeal the decision on the North Somerset Council website. This is more likely to occur when parents and carers choose not to submit three preferences, including their local school.

If you reject your offer, you will need to make an application for an alternative school or opt to be added to a waiting list.

 Primary school places for September 2024 will be announced on 16 April.