Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what data her Department collects on the average waiting-list position of pupils who ultimately receive a school place through the waiting-list process.

In 2025, 92.6% of families were offered their first-choice primary school and 98.6% received offers from one of their top three choices. At secondary level, 83.5% of families were offered their first-choice school and 94.9% received offers from one of their top three choices.

Admission authorities for all mainstream state‑funded schools must maintain a waiting list until at least 31 December of the relevant school year. When places become available, they are allocated strictly in accordance with each school’s published oversubscription criteria.

School admission decisions are made on an individual basis by admission authorities. As such, the department does not collect data on how many pupils on waiting lists for oversubscribed schools subsequently receive offers, nor on the average waiting‑list position of those who ultimately gain a place.