The number of parents being given their first choice secondary school for their children in Brighton and Hove has gone up by almost one per cent.

This year, 90 per cent got their first preference.

The number of parents who did not get any of their three preferences dropped 0.4 per cent from 5.7 per cent last year to 5.3 per cent this year. And 3.4 per cent got their second preference school with 1.4 per cent getting third.

A spokesman for Brighton and Hove City Council said a number of parents did not get any preference because they had filled in the same school three times on their form.

He said: "We made it absolutely clear in our admissions brochure that this would in no way increase their chances of getting their preferred school.

"The brochure also published details of last year's applications, giving parents a guide to which schools were oversubscribed and which weren't.

"One of the reasons for doing this was to help people avoid putting three schools down that were each likely to be oversubscribed.

"Like all local education authorities, we regret not being able to give everyone the place they wanted."

The 90 per cent figure is at the higher end of national statistics, which show between 85 and 90 per cent of parents get either their first, second or third preference.

A web site has been set up to help parents who want to appeal against their allocations, which gives them practical advice about the appeals process.

A spokesman for www.schoolappeals.org.uk said: "Parents can appeal to an independent panel to have their case heard and as far as the panel is concerned it isn't bound by the admissions criteria."

Monday March 10 2003