'Fantastic' outcome of school place picks says borough's lead education councillor - despite fact Thurrock falls well below national average and reverse in successful numbers has not been addressed
By Nub News Reporter 3rd Mar 2026
ALMOST one in four potential secondary school students in Thurrock have missed out on their top choice for the new school year - but on the up side of that, almost 9 out of ten have got a top three pick.
Seventy-six per cent of pupils who will start at secondary schools in September will get a place at their first preference school after 2,453 pupils applied.
The figures are almost an exact replica of those published last March, which showed Thurrock on a downward trend despite three new secondary schools opening the borough.
Despite a claim of a 'fantastic performance', the latest figures show a repeat of the drop in successful first choice places compard to previous years.
While national figures for the new year are not yet collated, approximately 83.5% of applicants in England were offered their first choice of secondary school for the 2025/26 academic year, with over 96% receiving an offer for one of their top three preferences, meaning Thurrock is below the esixting national average.
Cllr Vikki Hartstean, cabinet member for children's services, education and community safety , said: "Once again we have seen a fantastic outcome to the school application process with three quarters of the borough's pupils joining their top preference school later this year, and 90% going to one of their top three preference schools.
"Parents can log into their online school admissions account to check which school place their child has been offered. Parents who applied through a paper application have been sent their offer letter by post on Monday, 2 March."
Parents who have applied for primary school places starting in September 2026 will be able to access their school offer on Thursday, 16 April 2026 by logging into their online account.
For more information on the school admissions process, go to thurrock.gov.uk/admissions
Also see:
2022: https://thurrock.nub.news/news/local-news/parents-learn-if-they-have-got-their-secondary-school-pick
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