NEARLY one in 10 Worcestershire children starting school in September won't be at their first-choice establishment, new figures have revealed.

On National Offer Day today (Thursday) fewer primary school children in the county received a place at their first-choice school than last year, as a nationwide squeeze hit home.

Of the 6,218 applications for a total of 6,880 school places, 5,695 pupils were allocated a place at their first-choice school.

This worked out to be 90.85 per cent, down from 93 per cent in 2014 and 92.4 per cent in 2013.

This year, 5.15 per cent – or 323 youngsters – were offered their second choice of schools and 1.35 per cent – or 87 children – their third preference.

The remaining 2.65 per cent – 178 four- or five-year-olds – were offered a place at an alternative school, usually the one geographically closest to where they live which has places available.

No children did not receive an offer of a school place.

A spokesperson for Worcestershire County Council said: "We are well prepared to cope with growing pupil numbers in the county and whilst we cannot guarantee that families will always get their first preference school, we are confident that all children will be offered a school place.

"The county council will continue to monitor numbers and respond with increases and expansions as necessary, with expansions for the September 2015 intake having already been agreed."

Nationally, figures show wide differences around the country, with up to one in five missing out on their first preference in some areas, compared with almost all getting their number one pick in others.

A continuing squeeze on places, particularly at primary level means some parts of England are struggling to find space for every child.

The number of classes with more than 30 pupils has reached a 15-year high.

Netmums spokeswoman Rachel Burrows said: "The ongoing baby boom has put unprecedented pressure on school places and that means it's inevitable some parents will miss out on the school they want.

"Primaries are a child's first taste of school life and most parents feel it's vital to find the right one their child will feel secure and thrive at.

"But the competition for coveted schools is so intense that nationally an average of one in 10 children don't get into the school their parents hoped for, rising to four in 10 in some parts of the UK.

"Parents who miss out on the school they want will either be forced to go through the stressful appeals process or accept their child starts education in a different school to the one they wanted.

"Either option is difficult and parents will face tough choices to decide what is best for their family."

Any parents who want to appeal the decision made in offering a place or added onto a waiting list for a school should visit worcestershire.gov.uk/schooladmissions.