AN ESTIMATED 4,000 pupils have missed out on their first-preference school this year, according to Kent County Council.

While around three quarters of the 15,795 children applying for secondary places did succeed in getting a place at their first choice secondary school, 4,115 did not - an increase of six per cent on the number last year.

Letters telling parents of the outcome of applications for places at the county’s 99 secondary schools are expected to arrive in the post this Friday.

Children who sat the 11-plus will also learn if they have passed. But there was frustration for parents who had applied online and had hoped to discover the outcome on Thursday.

The county council was forced apologise after its website crashed on Thursday morning.

According to Kent County Council, of the 15,795 children applying, 96 per cent have received an offer of a place at one of the schools they wanted, a small rise on last year.

Of those, 11,680 were offered their first preference - 1,295 fewer than last year.

The number offered a place at their second preference school rose by more than 850 to 2,554. Meanwhile, there was a drop in numbers who were allocated a school they did not list at all. That fell to 617 from 794 last year.

Education chiefs said specialist teams were on hand to help parents who had not got what they wanted.

Cllr John Simmonds (Con) KCC cabinet member for education, said: “It is a huge logistical exercise to ensure the offers go out on time and it is pleasing that 96 per cent of parents have been offered a school of their choice.”

This year is the first in which all secondary schools in Kent have had to adopt admissions arrangements which forbid them from giving greater priority to those that rank them first.

For the first time, parents were able to apply on-line for school places and 2,700 did so. Cllr Simmonds hailed this innovation as a “distinct success.”

Under Kent’s admissions arrangements, parents can name three schools on their forms and by law, must tell parents the outcome on March 1, the national offer day.

The numbers failing to get their first choice raises the prospect of a large number of parental appeals to independent panels administered by KCC.

Under KCC’s timetable, by March 22, parents should have made any appeal for a school which has not been offered and told the authority if a place offered is being rejected. Parents must also notify the school if accepting a place.

Specialist staff are on hand to help parents with queries on 01622 696565.