Cascade Comments On More Children In Plymouth Getting First Choice School

April 30, 2012 - PRLog -- Cascade were pleased to hear that more children have been given their first choice of infant or primary school in Plymouth in spite of increased pressure for places at city schools. The number of children starting school in September this year is up by more than 100 compared with last year, at over 3,000. But 88 percent of parents got their first choice, compared with 86.3per cent last year.

Thousands of parents and children in Plymouth have just learned whether they have been successful in receiving their first choice of school. But about 140, or 4.6per cent, did not get any of their listed preferences and so were allocated a place at the nearest school with a vacancy. Another 5.4per cent got their second choice and 2 percent their third choice. Our source at Cascade said it was a “great example of how well the education system is working in Plymouth, and also of how well the students are performing overall.”

A council spokeswoman said: "This increase in successful matching comes despite ever rising demands for primary school places as a result of increased birth rates and continued growth in the area. The council's basic need programme has been addressing this growing demand by working with schools to expand admission numbers in certain areas of the city with the most need for places."

Letters confirming school places for September 2012 were posted on April 20. From this September parents with children due to begin school in September the following year will be asked to list their primary preferences. Each school now has its own admission criteria as traditional catchment areas no longer exist.

“If Plymouth can continue on this path it will be fantastic for our youth,” said our source at Cascade, a local sales and marketing company, “Getting into the right school can be one of the most important things in the life of a child, and so it needs to be handled right.”

Any parent who is unhappy about the school place their child has been allocated can call the council's school admissions team on 01752 307166.

Children will automatically go on a waiting list for any school they ranked higher than the one eventually allocated. They will be considered if a vacancy comes up before the start of the school year, or during their first year of school.