Parents in a 'frenzy' to get their children into good primary schools

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More than 26,000 appealed after being refused the school of their choice, up 20 per cent on the previous year, official statistics revealed yesterday.

Primaries attended can have a bearing on success in getting into a good secondary school. Many sought-after comprehensives give priority to children from named feeder schools.

Primary battleground: More than 26,000 parents appealed last year after being refused the school of their choice

Of the 26,440 parents who lodged appeals in 2006-2007, 17,380 cases were heard before an independent appeals panel.

Only 5,590 appeals were decided in parents' favour, around a third.

At secondary level, falling numbers of parents are challenging the school place
offered the first time, the statistics from the Department for Children, Schools and Families show.

Some 53,570 appealed in 2006-2007, a fall of 5.5 per cent. Of these, 39,230 were heard before a panel and 13,860 were decided in parents' favour.

In separate statistics from the Department yesterday it emerged that one in five children did not get their first choice secondary school this year.

The figure conceals huge disparities around the country.

In Durham, 94.5 per cent of children got their first choice school, compared with 50.8 per cent in Wandsworth, South West London.

Schools Minister Jim Knight insisted that nearly all children get a place at one of their preferred schools, with the majority getting their first choice.

He added: "There will always be some oversubscribed schools, more popular than others - the key is to give parents confidence that their local schools can meet children's needs or talents wherever they live."

But David Laws, Liberal Democrat schools spokesman, said: "This is an indication of Labour's failure to raise school standards across the board, and to tackle the dramatic inequalities between different schools and different neighbourhoods."

Tory schools spokesman Nick Gibb said: "This is yet more evidence of increasing dissatisfaction among parents with the quality and type of education offered by too many schools."