Delight as most Central Bedfordshire pupils granted first choice secondary/upper school
Friday, 1 March 2019
Central Bedfordshire has maintained its high standard in providing secondary and upper schools as almost all young people have been granted one of their preferred choices for the 2019/20 academic year
Today (1 March) is National Secondary Offer Day, when parents and pupils across the country find out what the future holds for them and in Central Bedfordshire as, overall, 99% have been offered one of their top three preferred choices.
In terms of pupils granted their first preferences, there have also been improvements in both secondary and upper schools.
For pupils that have applied to transfer to upper schools from September, 97% have been granted their first preference. This is up 2% from last year. While in secondary schools, the figure is up 4% from last year, to 96%.
Councillor Steven Dixon, Executive Member for Families, Education and Children, said: "We work very hard to ensure that children can attend a good local school, and we are delighted that today’s figures show that we are not only maintaining our consistent high standards, but improving on them."
There were just under 3,000 applications, most of which came via our online system, with 96% of applicants to upper schools done that way, while 90% of applicants for secondary school applied online.
That’s the quickest way of finding out the news, as anyone applying online or requesting an email notification hears the news today. For those who submitted a paper application, decision letters were sent out yesterday by post.
Anyone wishing to decline or change their offered place can do so by submitting a change of preference form. The deadline for this is Friday, 15 March with new offers going out on Tuesday, 23 April.
Meanwhile, children starting school and transferring to middle school will find out whether they have received their first preference on 16 April, National Primary Offer Day.