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.
![Vale School had 86 applicants put the school as a first preference but only 83 of these were offered places. This means 3 or 3.5% did not get a place.](https://www.sussexexpress.co.uk/webimg/b25lY21zOjU1NmY4NzZmLTUzN2QtNGMxYS1hODhlLTUwYjg0ZWJhNDE5ZDplMjgyMDQzNS1jMGJiLTRkNTktYjYwZC02MmMzNjk4OTY3NzU=.jpg?crop=3:2&width=640)
21. Vale School, Worthing
Vale School had 86 applicants put the school as a first preference but only 83 of these were offered places. This means 3 or 3.5% did not get a place. Photo: Steve Robards
![West Park CofE Primary (Controlled) School had 104 applicants put the school as a first preference but only 102 of these were offered places. This means 2 or 1.9% did not get a place.](https://www.sussexexpress.co.uk/webimg/b25lY21zOjkzYTg3MDAyLTIxZWMtNDU2NS1iNTBkLTMyNGQyZDcxMmUzNTpiOGRkMWFkZi1iN2NkLTQzMWUtYjE4Yy1hYzczZGNiZTM5ODQ=.jpg?crop=3:2&width=640)
22. West Park CofE Primary (Controlled) School, Goring-by-Sea
West Park CofE Primary (Controlled) School had 104 applicants put the school as a first preference but only 102 of these were offered places. This means 2 or 1.9% did not get a place. Photo: Contributed
![North Lancing Primary School had 60 applicants put the school as a first preference but only 59 of these were offered places. This means 1 or 1.7% did not get a place.](https://www.sussexexpress.co.uk/webimg/b25lY21zOjk2ZDgyYmYzLTdiZGItNDc5My04ZGE1LTQ3MGMyYjAzNzJkOTplNmI4YWI1Yy00OGZiLTRhNTktOWE4ZS1lMGQ5MDM5ZjkwNGY=.jpg?crop=3:2&width=640)
23. North Lancing Primary School, Lancing
North Lancing Primary School had 60 applicants put the school as a first preference but only 59 of these were offered places. This means 1 or 1.7% did not get a place. Photo: Google