North Yorkshire Council pleased 'big majority' of families secured choice of primary school at stressful time

Figures show 95% of families of primary age children in North Yorkshire have secured their first choice of school.

Of all the families in the county who requested a primary school place for their child from September 2025, 99 per cent received an offer from one of their top three preferences for a school.

North Yorkshire Council’s executive member for education, learning and skills, Coun Annabel Wilkinson, said: “I’m delighted to see so many children getting their first choice of primary school.

“It is always our intention to support as many parents as possible with their preferences, and yet again this year, the overwhelming majority of North Yorkshire families have been successful in gaining admission to the school of their choice."

But the figures are different for secondary schools in the county.

Last month saw a total of 90 per cent of parents and carers in North Yorkshire secured their preferred secondary school for their child, continuing the county’s high level of success in recent years.

Ninety-six per cent of all families in the county who requested a secondary school for September 2025 received an offer from North Yorkshire Council for one of their top three preferences of secondary school.

Nationally, 82.9 per cent of applicants received an offer of their first choice school in secondary education with 94.6 per cent of all families receiving offers from one of their top three choices.

Coun Wilkinson, said: “I recognise how stressful this time can be for families and am pleased with the number of young people allocated their first preference secondary school in North Yorkshire.

“We continue to work hard to ensure our secondary schools have the capacity to meet the demand for places and we are proud of our education record which strives to give every child the best start in life.”

The figures showed that, in North Yorkshire this year, 6,104 pupils from across the county are transferring to secondary school.

More information: www.northyorks.gov.uk/admissions