Hundreds denied Catholic school places

RECORD numbers of applications were made to top-performing Catholic secondary schools this year, leading to hundreds of pupils being denied places, writes James Macintyre.

In west London, for example, around 900 applied for 160 places at the London Oratory School, up from 800 applicants last year, while the Cardinal Vaughan Memorial School received its highest ever number of applications: 864 for 120 places.

In the Archdiocese of Southwark, a spokesman for the Education Commission confirmed that applications for other Catholic schools also appeared to be up, according to figures made available for individual schools this week.

“First overall impressions are that the number of applications were up on the previous year and that, with a few exceptions, all the secondary schools in the diocese are oversubscribed, but not necessarily with Catholic children,” the spokesman said.

The national figures for applications to Catholic schools are not yet available.

Across all schools, latest reports say that the number of secondary-school pupils failing to be offered their preferred places is increasing. Because of high demand, at least four in 10 children in parts of London have been given places at their second, third or even sixth choice schools for September.

In Birmingham, 30 per cent  missed out on their first choice, up from 26 per cent last year.