by Martin Jefferies

Parents in Kent have less than a week to choose which primary school they want their children to attend next year.

The deadline reminder comes as new figures reveal a fifth of the county's primary schools are at bursting point.

Of the 532 primaries in Kent, 104 are full or oversubscribed, according to figures from the Department for Education (DfE).

It means parents with children starting school in September, who have until Monday to pick their three preferred primaries, are not guaranteed to get their number one choice.

Mike Whiting, cabinet member for education, learning and skills at Kent County Council, said: "The deadline is coming up soon. We've already received a number of applications but we want to remind parents to get theirs in as soon as they can."

The DfE figures show that in Kent, 800 pupils are in schools where capacity has been reached or exceeded – and primaries are likely to become even more crowded in the next five years.

Estimates suggest that, without expansion, schools will be at 99% capacity by 2015/16, with just 1,889 spare places countywide.

The opposite is true of secondary schools, which will be at 90% capacity by 2017/18, compared to 92% at present.

But 42 of the county's 117 secondaries – more than a third – are currently full or oversubscribed.

The figures show Rodmersham Primary School, Sittingbourne, is the county's most oversubscribed primary, with 37% more pupils than places, while The Hayesbrook School, Tonbridge, is the most oversubscribed secondary (21%).

Parkside Community Primary School, Canterbury, and Skinners' Kent Academy, Tunbridge Wells, are the schools with most number of spare places. Both are less than 50% full.

Parents will be told at the end of March where their child will be attending school.