Across Greater Manchester the wait to see if they have secured a place at their favoured school for their child is always an anxious time for parents, and new figures show that for many it ends in disappointment.
Analysis of official figures by our sister title NationalWorld has shown which is the most difficult primary school to get into in each of the city-region’s 10 local authorities.
In four boroughs - Bolton, Oldham, Salford and Stockport - fewer than half of the parents who put the most oversubscribed school down as their first preference got a place for their child.
Across England as a whole, 8% of primary school applicants did not get a place at their first choice school, affecting thousands of children. In the North West 7.1% of first preferences, or 5,521 children, did not get a place at their chosen school. The hardest region to get a place at your first choice school is Inner London, with 13% of children not getting to go to their parents’ preferred primary school.
How competitive is it to get into your local primary schools? Here we reveal which primary school in each borough of Greater Manchester is the hardest to get into.
In four boroughs - Bolton, Oldham, Salford and Stockport - fewer than half of the parents who put the most oversubscribed school down as their first preference got a place for their child.
5. Propps Hall Junior and Infant Primary School, Oldham
Propps Hall Junior and Infant Primary School was Oldham’s most oversubscribed, with just 46.2% of parents who put it as first preference getting a place Photo: Google Maps
6. Caldershaw Primary School, Rochdale
Caldershaw Primary School was the hardest to get into in Rochdale, with 55.6% of parents who had it down first getting in Photo: Google Maps
7. James Brindley Community Primary School, Salford
Fewer than half of parents who wanted their child to go to James Brindley Community Primary School in Salford as first preference got in, with 61 hopefuls for the 30 places Photo: Google Maps
8. Cheadle Hulme Primary School, Stockport
The hardest primary school to get into in Stockport was Cheadle Hulme Primary School, with just 46.5% of first preferences securing places, leaving a massive 69 applicants disappointed. Photo; AdobeStock Photo: Darren Baker - stock.adobe.com