NEARLY 99 per cent of children in Devon have been offered one of their three preferences of primary school for this September.

95 per cent of the families who applied to Devon County Council have been offered their first choice primary school.

And 98.5 per cent of applicants were offered one of their three preferences - three per cent were offered their second preference and 0.5 per cent their third preference.

In all, 7,526 children across Devon applied for a primary school place.

And every child has been offered a place.

Devon's Cabinet member for schools, James McInnes, said: “I am very pleased that we have been able to accommodate the vast majority of children in one of their three preferred schools.

“This is a testament to the hard work of our admissions team and the partnership and cooperation we have received from the heads and governors of Devon's primary schools.

“Everyone will have seen the stories about other parts of the country where there are not enough places for the growing number of primary-aged children.

“We have worked very hard over the past few years to ensure that there are sufficient places in those parts of Devon where there has been a big increase in numbers.

“These are obviously very early statistics and are quite likely to improve even more before September as appeals are heard and other factors are taken into account, such as parents not taking up places they have been offered.”