Across England, 8% of primary school applicants and 17% of secondary school applicants did not get a place at their first choice school, affecting nearly 150,000 children in total.
In the South East, 8.8% of applicants did not get into their first choice primary school and 16.7% did not secure a place at their preferred secondary school. This meant 8,312 primary and 16,978 secondary aged children did not get a place at their first choice school.
Inner London was found to have the hardest schools to get into in the country. One in every eight children (13%) did not get into their first choice primary school. This rose to one in three (33%) for secondary school places.
How competitive is it to get into your local primary school? Here we reveal which primary schools in the Worthing, Littlehampton, Shoreham and Lancing areas are the hardest to get into.
Inner London was found to have the hardest schools to get into in the country. One in every eight children (13%) did not get into their first choice primary school. This rose to one in three (33%) for secondary school places.
![East Preston Infant School had 118 applicants put the school as a first preference but only 88 of these were offered places. This means 30 or 25.4% did not get a place.](https://www.sussexexpress.co.uk/webimg/b25lY21zOmI3ZWI4OTViLTk5OWEtNGViYi04ZjEwLTRkOGRkZWJiNDRhOTo0OTJlNjIzMi0zODQzLTQyMDQtOGYxNS1hMmEyMjVhNjhkYTI=.jpg?crop=3:2&width=640)
5. East Preston Infant School, East Preston
East Preston Infant School had 118 applicants put the school as a first preference but only 88 of these were offered places. This means 30 or 25.4% did not get a place. Photo: Google
![Goring-by-Sea CofE (Aided) Primary School had 77 applicants put the school as a first preference but only 60 of these were offered places. This means 17 or 22.1% did not get a place.](https://www.sussexexpress.co.uk/webimg/b25lY21zOmVhMzk2N2FiLTg0ZWQtNGVhMi1iY2MzLWJhYWVjMjU0NzViNzo2OTk5OTU0MC01ZTA3LTQ3NDMtYTJhMi03OGY4M2M5NWM0OTQ=.jpg?crop=3:2&width=640)
6. Goring-by-Sea CofE (Aided) Primary School, Goring-by-Sea
Goring-by-Sea CofE (Aided) Primary School had 77 applicants put the school as a first preference but only 60 of these were offered places. This means 17 or 22.1% did not get a place. Photo: Google
![Broadwater CofE Primary School had 73 applicants put the school as a first preference but only 57 of these were offered places. This means 16 or 21.9% did not get a place.](https://www.sussexexpress.co.uk/webimg/b25lY21zOjIwMTU1Y2JhLTk4OTQtNDUxYy1iMWVkLTM0NzU0YTY5MDgyYjphMTY0MjJlYS1lOThmLTQ0NDEtYTA5MS04ZWFiMjNkYmNkZGI=.jpg?crop=3:2&width=640)
7. Broadwater CofE Primary School, Worthing
Broadwater CofE Primary School had 73 applicants put the school as a first preference but only 57 of these were offered places. This means 16 or 21.9% did not get a place. Photo: Google
![Holmbush Primary Academy had 37 applicants put the school as a first preference but only 29 of these were offered places. This means 8 or 21.6% did not get a place.](https://www.sussexexpress.co.uk/webimg/b25lY21zOjFiMzlkNjFkLWE0NzgtNDUwZC1iM2Q0LTRlYjVmZTMxNmNlMTpjYjU4YTQzMS1iNzEyLTRjNTgtYmZlZS1jYjFlMzVmZGNmODU=.jpg?crop=3:2&width=640)
8. Holmbush Primary Academy, Shoreham
Holmbush Primary Academy had 37 applicants put the school as a first preference but only 29 of these were offered places. This means 8 or 21.6% did not get a place. Photo: Liz Pearce