Secondary School Offer Day: Sutton Council meets rising demand

Sutton has outperformed other London boroughs for the number of pupils getting preferred school places this September.

Sutton performed over 3 percent higher than the London average with 97.1 percent of pupils being offered a place at one of their preferred schools, compared to 93.8 percent of children across the rest of London. 

A total of 92.9 percent of Sutton pupils were also offered a place at one of their top three choices of secondary school, with 74.1 percent getting into their first preference school, according to figures released on National Secondary School Offer Day by the Pan London Admissions Board.

Sutton pupils did much better than regional averages with only 68.3 per cent getting into their first preference school in other London areas.  

The number of applications in Sutton rose by 146, from 2,620 last year to 2,766 placing additional pressure on places.

Councillor Marian James, Chair of the People Committee said: “Sutton has some of the best schools in London, we are delighted so many pupils have managed to get a place at one of their preferred options.

“The figures show the number of pupils starting secondary school in Sutton, and London as a whole, is growing significantly.

“While there has been a 5 per cent increase in applications compared to last year, we have still managed to deliver more preferred places for pupils than the London average and every student has received an offer, which forms part of our ambitions for the borough.

“This has been made possible in large part thanks to good planning, the flexibility of our secondary schools in making additional places available, and the opening of Harris Academy Sutton in 2018.”

Parents seeking any advice or guidance with their application should read the information provided to them with their offer.

Parents have access to an independent appeals process if they are unhappy with the outcome of their application.