5,000 fail to get into a London state school

And more than 26,000 pupils - one in three - missed out on their first choice school as London families were hardest hit by the intense competition.

The success rate fell in 12 boroughs this year, leaving thousands of parents facing the prospect of sending their children to less popular comprehensives, or trying to scrape together enough money to go private.

The figures came as parents of 78,180 children across the capital were receiving letters containing offers of places or news of rejection.

Competition for places at leading grammars and popular comprehensives is said to be particularly high this year as the recession prompts many families who would otherwise have sent their children to private schools to consider state education.

Margaret Morrissey, from campaign group Parents Outloud said families were "distraught" when they received bad news.

Results from London Councils showed that 34 per cent of pupils missed out on their first choice secondary schools this year, slightly fewer than last year. Some 4,850 were left with no place at a state secondary school for September. Most will have applied only to top grammars and failed to win a place. Parents will now have to send them to private schools or have them taught at home.

There were wide disparities between boroughs, with grammar school areas particularly badly affected by competition. In Kingston, for example, only 57 per cent of children gained a place at their first choice schools, down from 60per cent last year, and in Wandsworth the figure was 54 per cent.

But despite the dire economic news, rejection from grammar schools will force some parents to do all they can to send their children private.

Simon Stanbridge, of the tuition website Chuckra.co.uk, said: "We have encountered a number of parents who are choosing independent schools only as a last resort if their child doesn't pass the 11-plus."

The Conservatives said standards in state education were too low, reducing parents' choice. Shadow schools minister Nick Gibb said: "The big problem with the admissions system is that there are just too few good schools being rationed among parents."

Graham Carter, chairman of the pan-London admissions scheme, defended the system, saying more than nine out of 10 children had found places at one of their six preferred schools.

"Choosing a secondary school is one of the most important decisions a parent will make for their child," he said.

"The success of the scheme has meant more pupils have been offered a place at a school of their preference."

But a new report from the London School of Economics called for reforms to the "too complex" admissions system where increasing numbers of schools are selecting pupils because of their "aptitude" for a particular area such as music, sport or science.

Report author Professor Anne West said: "The system needs to be changed if admissions are going to be fair."

The findings are a blow to the Government, which only last year brought in a revised set of rules designed to make the system fairer for parents.

London schools minister Sarah McCarthy-Fry said: "We are helping parents make the best choices for their children - it would not be right for some parents to gain an advantage just because they know how to play the system."