Cheshire East Council has revealed that after contacting thousands of parents and carers on national secondary school offer day, the majority received their preferred school for their child.

With an increase in demand for places, 93 percent of Cheshire East residents have received an offer of their first-choice school, with 96 percent receiving an offer from their three preference choices.

The council's school admissions team received 5,052 applications this year, a nine percent increase on last year, with 4,275 received from Cheshire East residents.

The council expects the percentages to improve further before pupils start in September 2022, as some parents will decline places as their circumstances have changed and places will become available to other children.

A Cheshire East spokesperson said: "Any parent who is not happy with the school place offered has the right to submit an appeal and/or go on the waiting list for another school(s).

"Parents are advised to accept their child's offer even if they would prefer a different school until they have confirmed alternative plans for their child's education."

Cheshire East Council, as with all councils, has a duty to make sure there are enough school places available to local children and young people.

The council follows the government's school admissions code which ensures that all school places for maintained schools and academies are allocated and offered in an open and fair way.

Councillor Kathryn Flavell, lead member for children and families at Cheshire East Council, said: "We continue to work hard with our schools to ensure that there are enough places for our borough's growing population.

"We have an ambitious programme of school expansions that aims to meet the increasing demand for places as more and more families choose to live and work here and enjoy all that Cheshire East has to offer.

"We continue to have a great record in meeting parental preference, but also understand the disappointment where this is not the case. I'd like to reassure parents that we are contacting and supporting those who have not been offered a preference school.

"Moving to secondary school is a memorable moment in a child's education and I'd like to thank everyone involved in supporting our children and families during the school application process.

"As we begin to recover from the pandemic – I'd like to wish all the year seven students the very best start in their secondary school in September."

For further advice, parents can visit www.cheshireeast.gov.uk/schooladmissions, the website of their preferred school, e-mail [email protected] or call 0300 123 5012.

Parents can also follow the Cheshire East Family Information Service on social media for tips and advice.

Families of children starting primary school in September 2022 will receive their school offer place on 19 April 2022.