Almost 70 per cent of Birmingham pupils have been offered their first preference of secondary school, council figures show.

The figure has increased by 2.7 per cent on last year meaning 9,364 of the city’s pupils who applied to transfer to secondary school will be finding out they have been offered a place at their number one choice.

More than 95 per cent will find out they have been offered one of their six preferred schools, with 11 per cent offered their second preference and just two per cent offered their sixth preference.

But a total of 644 children will find out they have been offered a school that was not one of their preferences.

Julie Newbold, head of admissions at Birmingham City Council, said: “The admissions team has worked extremely hard to give advice and guidance to parents and carers as well as pupils, processing thousands of applications.

“It is good news that almost 70 per cent have been offered their first choice. While there will inevitably be some parents who are unhappy with their offer, the team is very professional and sympathetic when advising these parents of their options, and explaining their right to appeal.”

This year 13,540 Birmingham pupils applied to transfer to secondary school, 446 fewer than last year. There were 52,460 preferences expressed, with a third of applications made online, almost 10 per cent more than last year.

There were also 1,909 applicants to Birmingham schools from outside the city, with 32.8 per cent offered a place, an increase of 2.2 per cent from last year.

There are a number of factors taken into account when applications are made, including whether a pupil has a statement of special educational need, whether they have a sibling at the school, and distance from the school.

In recent years there have been an average 1,000 appeals made but only 3.6 per cent were successful.