One of the biggest decisions parents face each year is which school they should choose for their children.
The secondary school application deadline is drawing nearer (October 31). Applications after this deadline could significantly lessen parents' chances of getting their child into their chosen school.
Our interactive search tool uses last year's admissions data to tell you how many places are available in the 2016–2017 school year.
These figures come from Freedom of Information requests to local councils, who collect and process school applications. Councils were asked to provide the number of places available at each school and the number of offers made.
In applications, parents list between three and six schools in order of preference. The schools and council then rank the applications according to how well they fit the criteria, factoring in siblings, religion and the family's distance from the school. Some councils consider how well a child fits the criteria before they consider preference, while others consider preference first.
Not all councils provided all the information requested, but they all revealed each school's number of applications. This information gives an idea of how popular the school is with parents.
Some schools receive a high number of applications but are not often parents' first choice, while others are oversubscribed with first-choice applications. The number of successful first-choice applications shows the chances of a child getting a place at the school.
Find out how your nearest secondary school rates by seeing our school ratings page here.
