Local MP Julian Knight has welcomed the news that more than a quarter of a million pupils across the West Midlands are benefiting from a record number of good school places this year.
According to the latest data from Ofsted, the schools inspectorate, there are 737,479 ‘good school places’ available across the region this year, compared to 485,948 in 2010 – an increase of 251,531.
Overall there are 735,000 extra places across England since 2010, and as a result 83 per cent of pupils were offered their first choice of secondary school last year. Fully nine out of ten got into one of their top three.
In total, 1.9 million children are attending good or outstanding schools, and the Government is investing £5.8 billion in creating even more good school places.
Commenting on the figures, Julian Knight said:
“Education is one of the Government’s most important responsibilities: a child’s early years play a huge role in setting them up for success in later life. I’m very proud to support a Government which has made education one of its top priorities.
“Solihull is blessed to enjoy truly outstanding local schools, but these figures show that more parents than ever, both across our region and the rest of England, are able to enjoy the broad choice and high standards that local residents rightly expect.”