FIRST preference places have been offered to more than 92 per cent of primary school applicants in Cheshire East this year.

The exact figure, 92.75 percent, is an increase from last year’s 92.18 per cent. In total, 98.5 per cent of Cheshire East residents are being offered a place at a school of their choice for September 2018. This is up by 0.6 per cent since last year.

Councillor Jos Saunders, Cheshire East Council cabinet member for children and families, said: “This is fantastic and yet more great news for parents and pupils about our first-class education provision in the borough.

“To be able to say once again, to such a high proportion of parents, that they have been given their first choice of school for their child, is testament to the high-quality education service we provide in Cheshire East. This is another outstanding achievement by our team who have once again risen to the challenge and excelled.

“We fully appreciate that access to a school of choice is a very important issue for families and our record demonstrates, once again, that Cheshire East is not only a very desirable place to live and do business, it is also a great place to learn.

“These are excellent figures and good news for parents and children. Cheshire East’s schools have a national reputation for excellence, with 91.2 per cent of primary and nursery schools rated as good or outstanding by Ofsted.

“It is most pleasing to see that 98.5 per cent of applications from Cheshire East residents get a local school of their choice with more than 92 per cent getting their first choice.”

Further information on primary school place decisions for September 2018 is available at cheshireeast.gov.uk/schools