142 Kirklees pupils miss out on school of choice

Nov 12 2009 By Hazel Ettienne

MORE than 100 schoolchildren in Kirklees have not been able to get into the school they most wanted to go to.

The parents of 243 children of primary and secondary school age were unhappy about the school in which their child had been placed and lodged an appeal.

Of those appeals, 101 have been successful, but 142 children have still been placed at a school where their parents do not want them to go.

In Kirklees, 383 appeals were heard in 2008/09 and 159 were allowed. The year before, the figure was 305 appeals with 156 allowed.

The figures have been revealed after research by the Liberal Democrats nationally has shown that since 1999 nearly 490,000 parents have been unhappy about the school their child has been placed in and have lodged an appeal, with only a third being successful.

Liberal Democrat Shadow Schools Secretary David Laws said: “Every year, tens of thousands of parents are left disappointed because their child can’t get into the school of their choice.