Thousands of Haringey children will start lessons at their first preference school this September after more than 90 percent of pupils were offered their top preference.

National Offer Day yesterday (April 18) saw all 2,959 Haringey applicants offered a place at a school in the borough – with 91 percent given their first preference, 98 percent offered one of their top three, and 99 percent offered one of their six preferences.

Haringey’s figures were well above the London average, which saw just 86 percent of children offered their first preference and 97 percent offered a place at one of their six preferences.

Figures from London Councils also show Haringey has moved up to fourth of 33 London boroughs for offering first-place preferences, above neighbouring boroughs Barnet, Islington, Hackney, Camden and Enfield.

Councillor Weston, Cabinet Member for Children and Families, said

We understand how important school preferences are to parents and children, and I am delighted that we have been able to offer so many parents the school they want for their child, and that every child who applied in Haringey has been offered a school place in the borough.

With almost every primary school in Haringey now rated as good or outstanding by Ofsted, every parent can be confident that their child will receive top quality education, wherever they go to school in the borough. We’re committed to giving all young people in the borough the best start in life, including through excellent education.

The one percent of applicants who were not offered a school of preference on their application were allocated the nearest school to their home address with an available place, the majority of these within half a mile.

This year also saw a rise in the number of parents applying online, with 94 percent of applications received in this way. All online applicants were notified of their offers by email. Those who applied in writing were sent offer letters yesterday.