MORE than 90 per cent of Wiltshire children have been offered a place at their first choice primary school.

92 per cent of children in the county have today been offered a place at their first choice primary school for this September, and 98 per cent of families were offered a place in one of their top three choices.

Carolyn Godfrey, Wiltshire Council corporate director said: “Finding out your child’s first school is an important milestone for families and I’m pleased that once again in Wiltshire so many will be attending a school of their choice this September.”

Most parents now apply for places online with almost 92 per cent of the 5,273 applications received doing so, and can check their child's place at admissions.wiltshire.gov.uk/prefs.php. Those who applied by post will have their decisions sent to them in hard copy today today.

Applicants have until May 2 to accept the offer they receive, but the right to an independent appeal is open to anyone who did not receive one of their preferred schools.

All children born between September 1, 2012, and August 31, 2013, are eligible for a September school place but The Good Schools Guide predicts that many parents will miss out on their schools of choice.

The Good Schools Guide’s state school expert Elizabeth Coatman urges parents not to panic if they aren’t happy with their allocated school and to think very carefully before appealing.

She said: “Many children will be placed in schools that parents feel are unacceptable but it is important to know the chances of successfully appealing are incredibly slim and over-sized classes, bad Ofsted reports, siblings at other schools and distance from home are not considered grounds for an appeal.”

The Good Schools Guide recommends those who don’t get their preferred choice of school to accept the place offered, otherwise run the risk of their child having no school to go to in September.

After that, parents are advised to get on the waiting lists for other schools and check out the place that has been allocated as it might not be as bad as feared.