Parents fail to get their choice of schools

Such is the pressure on numbers for the few primary schools in Hackney rated as “outstanding” that some families have chosen to send their children to schools in other boroughs.

Although the Learning Trust, Hackney’s local education authority, has made extra places available, there has been considerable discontent among parents who did not get their first, second or third choice of school.

One parent is sending their four-year-old daughter to a school as far away as Redbridge. Another is rejecting a Hackney primary school and opting for one just over the border in Tower Hamlets.

The Citizen was told: “As a parent, you are going to strive to obtain the best possible option available, even if that means travelling with your kids some distance.”

The Learning Trust had to make 110 extra reception class places available following the massive demand in 2010, with an increase of almost 10 per cent on the previous year.

Figures made available by the Trust show that admissions for primary schools have greatly increased in comparison with the previous year, with 2,639 applications for 2,563 reception class places, compared with 2421 applications for the same number of places in 2009.

There is some good news, however. In Hackney’s secondary schools, provisional GCSE results published by the Trust last week were up on last year. The overall results show Hackney scoring above the national average for the second year in a row.

Certainly secondary school places in 2010 were sufficient for the number of applications (probably because the capacity of the schools has increased by 7.5 per cent since 2009).

The Trust, whose contract with the Council to run Hackney’s schools runs out at the end of the academic year 2011-2012, remains upbeat. Its deputy chief executive, Steve Belk, said: “Education in Hackney is doing better than ever. Parents have greater confidence in our schools, and young people are increasingly choosing to stay in Hackney for their secondary and post-16 education. I’m really pleased that we’ve been able to meet the increased demand for places.”