SEVEN out of 10 Harrow pupils have won a place at their preferred secondary school.
Last October, 2,454 year six (10 to 11-year-olds) children applied to up to six schools and on Tuesday those families received notification of the single school at which their son or daughter had been allocated a space.
Eighty-three per cent of the borough's applicants got into one of their top three schools and it emerged that just under a quarter - 24 per cent - had put a school outside of Harrow among their top six, with destinations including Brent, Hillingdon, Barnet, Hertfordshire and even Slough in Berkshire, and Buckinghamshire.
Parents were guaranteed that every Harrow pupil who chose at least one local school on their form would eventually be offered a place at a local school, although not necessarily the one they wanted.
This year's process was different for Harrow because, due to a change in the age at which pupils move from primary to secondary school - bringing it in line with other council areas and aligning education better with the Key Stages, two year groups will make the switch in September - year six and year seven (11 to 12-year-olds).
Councillor Anjana Patel (Conservative), portfolio holder for schools and children's development, said: "We make every effort to ensure that all our pupils attend the school of their choice, and have a strong track record of doing so."
The allocation of school places is handled centrally for the whole of the capital by the so-called online pan-London register system, that was introduced in 2005 to ease the anxiety parents feel about the admissions process.
This year, Harrow used the distance from the child's address to the nearest school gate as its tie-breaking selection criteria.
Parents disappointed with the offer their child has received can appeal to a panel of Harrow councillors.
