Dozens of schools oversubscribed leaving parents without their first choice
Dozens of schools across Shropshire and Telford and Wrekin are full or above capacity, putting pressure on staff and leaving parents and pupils unable to go to their school of choice.
The Association of School and College leaders says that the Ofsted inspection system leads parents to press for places at certain schools, driving up property prices in those areas and stigmatising other schools.
Department for Education figures show 31 schools were at or over capacity in Shropshire in the 2021-22 academic year.
Of them, 26 were primary schools and five were secondary schools.
On Telford and Wrekin 18 schools were at or over capacity, 14 of them primary and four secondary.
Across England, 17 per cent of primary schools were full or over capacity 23 per cent of secondary schools/sixth forms.
The Department for Education said most state schools that exceeded their capacity were over by fewer than 10 pupils.
In Telford Madeley Academy had 1,241 pupils but 1,100 official places while St Lawrence Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School had 90 students on roll and 84 places.
Individual schools oversubscribed in Shropshire included the Lacon Childe School with 559 pupils nearly 20 more than the 540 capacity and Tilstock Church of England Primary and Nursery near Whitchurch with 82 students on roll and 60 places.
Geoff Barton, Association of School and College Leaders general secretary, said arrangements are put in place to accommodate pupils where a school is over-subscribed.
He said: "The bigger issue is that this situation is often driven by Ofsted judgements rather than a shortage of school places in the system as a whole because many parents apply for schools with ‘good’ and ‘outstanding’ ratings.
"It drives up property prices in certain areas and stigmatises schools in other areas."
He added that the system desperately needed to be reviewed and added that struggling schools needed more support.
Addressing the issue
In parts of the county and in Telford and Wrekin, hundreds of new places are being created to address the problem.
A spokesperson for Telford and Wrekin Council said that as more people are choosing Telford and Wrekin as a place to live and raise a family, there continued to be a high demand for school places in the borough.
"That’s why, in recent years, Telford & Wrekin Council has been heavily investing in local schools, significantly increasing the number of places available in the areas where this is needed.
“This approach has paid off, as more families in the borough are being offered places at their preferred schools than the regional and national averages.
“With a new primary school in Allscott due to open this year, the development of a new primary school in Priorslee in the next two years, the Lawley Village Academy expansion and a number of secondary school expansions – the council is well on track to create hundreds more new school places in the borough.”
In Shrewsbury work is well underway on a new nursery and primary school.
The Bowbrook Primary School is set to open on September 1 this year.
The popular Tilstock Primary School in Whitchurch has already created two new classrooms.
A spokesperson said: "In 2019 we built a new reception area and in 2021 we built two new classrooms so whereas we are over our admission number, we’ve been able to do accommodate pupils with the new space we’ve created".
