Academic Year 2020/21

Secondary and primary school applications and offers

This is the latest data

• Published: 11 June 2020

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These statistics provide the number of offers made to applicants for secondary and primary school places to start in September 2020, and the proportion which received preferred offers.

The data is collected from local authorities. The offers were made, and data collected, based on the national offer days of 2 March 2020 (secondary) and 16 April 2020 (primary).

Figures are provided at national, regional and local authority level. A time series is provided going back to 2014, when primary data was collected for the first time following the introduction of the first primary national offer day.

The application and offer data is gathered at pupil level from which school level figures can be produced. Contact the department at school.preference@education.gov.uk for more information about accessing this dataset.

Download associated files

• All files (zip, 455 Kb)
• Metadata (pdf, 214 Kb)
• Pre-release access list (pdf, 35 Kb)
• Secondary and primary schools applications and offers (csv, 628 Kb)
• Metadata guidance document

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Headline facts and figures - 2020/21

Secondary applications and offers

Secondary applications

600,352 applications were received for a place at secondary school in 2020, a 0.7% decrease on 2019. 

This contrasts to a 3.7% increase in the number of applications between 2018 and 2019.

This is the first year on year drop since 2013, when the rise in births which began in the previous decade started to reach secondary school age. 

Secondary offers

The proportion of secondary applicants receiving an offer of their first choice school has increased to 82.2% - up from 80.9% in 2019. 

The proportion of applicants who received an offer of any of their preferred secondary schools also increased to 95.6% in 2020 (from 94.8%).

A timeseries of key results from 2014 are provided in the following table.

Secondary geographical variation

At local authority level the three highest first preference rates were achieved in 2020 by:

• Northumberland (97.3%)
• Central Bedfordshire (96.8%)
• Dorset (96.3%)

Northumberland has been the top performer in this measure for the last five years. Central Bedfordshire is now the only local authority who submit secondary data for year 9 as their largest secondary intake.

As in previous years, the lowest first preference rates at secondary level are all in London[1]:

• Hammersmith and Fulham (52.8%)
• Lambeth (59.8%)
• Richmond upon Thames (60.7%)

The only non-London local authority in the bottom ten was:

• Slough (63.3%)

The higher number of practical options available to London applicants and ability to name six preferences may encourage parents to make more speculative choices for their top preferences. 

As expected, there is much less variation in the proportions receiving any preferred offer compared to those for receiving a first preference.

Secondary cross local authority offers

An applicant can apply to their local authority for any school, including those situated in another local authority. 

In 2020 92.0% of secondary offers made were of schools inside the home authority. This figure has been stable for the past few years.

 

[1] Results omit City of London which has a particularly small number of applicants and no secondary schools

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Primary applications and offers

Primary applications

612,146 applications were received for a place at primary school in 2020, a 0.5% increase on 2019. 

The number of applications was virtually unchanged between 2018 and 2019.

Primary offers

The proportion of primary applicants receiving an offer of their first choice school has decreased slightly to 90.2% - down from 90.6% in 2019 and following a drop of the same scale from the year before. 

The proportion of applicants who received an offer of any of their preferred primary schools also decreased very slightly to 97.8% in 2020 (from 98.0%).

A timeseries of key results from 2014 are provided in the following table.

Primary geographical variation

At local authority level the three highest first preference rates were achieved in 2020 by:

• Redcar & Cleveland (99.3%)
• Northumberland (97.9%)
• Darlington (97.7%)

Northumberland was also in the top three in 2019. 

As in previous years, the lowest first preference rates at primary level are all in London[1]:

• Kensington & Chelsea (70.7%)
• Hammersmith & Fulham (73.3%)
• Camden (74.9%)

Kensington & Chelsea and Hammersmith & Fulham have both been in the bottom three since 2015. 

The only non-London local authority in the bottom ten was:

• Windsor & Maidenhead (82.6%)

The higher number of practical options available to London applicants and ability to name six preferences may encourage parents to make more speculative choices for their top preferences. 

As expected, there is much less variation in the proportions receiving any preferred offer compared to those for receiving a first preference.

Primary cross local authority offers

An applicant can apply to their local authority for any school, including those situated in another local authority. 

In 2020 97.0% of primary offers made were of schools inside the home authority. This figure has been stable for the past few years.

 

[1] Results omit City of London which has a particularly small number of applicants

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Further information available

This release concentrates on the headline figures for the proportion of children receiving their first preference or a preferred offer. 

However, the underlying data provides more information including:

• the number of places available
• the proportion of children for whom a preferred offer was not received
• the proportion of applicants who were provided with offers within or outside their home authority
• the number of non-applicants who were made an offer

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Official statistics

These are Official Statistics and have been produced in line with the Code of Practice for Official Statistics. 

This can be broadly interpreted to mean that the statistics: 

• meet identified user needs; 
• are well explained and readily accessible; 
• are produced according to sound methods; 
• are managed impartially and objectively in the public interest. 

Once statistics have been designated as Official Statistics it is a statutory requirement that the Code of Practice shall continue to be observed. 

The Department has a set of statistical policies in line with the Code of Practice for Official Statistics.

Find out more about the standards we follow to produce these statistics through our Standards for official statistics published by DfE guidance.

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Help and support

Methodology

Find out how and why we collect, process and publish these statistics

View methodology for Secondary and primary school applications and offers.

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Contact us

If you have a specific enquiry about Secondary and primary school applications and offers statistics and data:

School preference statistics team

Email
school.preference@education.gov.uk

Telephone: Helen Bray
0370 000 2288

Press office

If you have a media enquiry:

Telephone
020 7783 8300

Public enquiries

If you have a general enquiry about the Department for Education (DfE) or education:

Telephone
037 0000 2288

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