ALMOST nine out of every 10 children in Warrington due to start primary school in September have been allocated their first choice place.

This is according to new figures released by Warrington Borough Council today, Tuesday.

Across the borough, parents have been anxiously awaiting the news about whether their child has got into their first-choice school.

In total, there were 2,552 applications for primary school places in Warrington this year.

Every applicant has been allocated a place in a primary school for the new year, which will start in September.

Out of these, 2,309 children received the news they had secured a place in their first choice, which equates to 89.5 percent.

Of the remaining 243 applications, 130 infants got into their second-choice school and 54 into their third-choice.

This leaves 59 children who are unfortunate enough to be starting in a primary school not in their top three preferences come September.

These figures match the national average from 2018, which saw about one in ten infants miss out on their first choice.

The same data shows 97.7 per cent of 2018 applicants got one of their top three places, with the exact same figure being the case again in Warrington this year.

Speaking earlier today, school standards minister Nick Gibb looked to ease parents’ concerns if their child did not get into the school they were hoping for.

He said: “Any school place offer day is a big event for families, but parents should be reassured that the improvement in the school system means they would probably find the schools unrecognisable from a generation ago.

“The curriculum has been revitalised, the phonics check is helping thousands of six-year-olds become fluent readers, the Teaching for Mastery programme means many pupils are being taught maths using world leading techniques and the gap between disadvantaged pupils and their peers is falling.

“What this means in practice is that even in instances where parents aren’t getting the news they hoped for today, the likelihood is that their child will be attending a school which will provide a first-class education.”