Choosing a secondary school

The annual coverage of the outcome of secondary preferences is with us again, accompanied by all the usual brouhaha about fact that ‘four in 10 will miss out on their preferred school’ (Telegraph) and ‘one in six children will miss out on first choice of secondary school’ (Guardian). Ignoring the usual issues of accuracy (In parenthesis, surely media literacy really ought to be on the national curriculum?) none of this is a revelation. Preference rates are lower where – surprise, surprise – there is easy transport to many different schools, and parents express preferences for highly over-subscribed schools. And preference rates are lower where there is ‘academic’ selection. Preference rates are higher where the local secondary schools are all seen as doing a reasonable job, and in areas where there is only one sensible school to choose because of geography.