Families across Medway have started receiving news of the secondary school their child has been offered this September.

Every Medway child whose parent applied on time has secured a school place and, of the 3,431 Medway children offered places, more than 96% have been awarded a place at one of their preferred secondary schools.

The school admissions process for Medway is a huge task and involves the council's School Admissions and Transport team processing secondary school applications for a total of 4,459 children, which includes 1,028 children from outside Medway.

Medway Council offers parents the opportunity to submit their child’s applications online, using a quick and simple form. This year, more than 99% of families used the council's online application process to submit their preferences.

Details started going out yesterday.

A separate admissions process has also taken place for a new free school opening in September, the Leigh Academy Rainham. It received 514 applications and has offered 240 place.

Cllr Martin Potter, Medway Council’s portfolio holder for education and schools, said: “Medway has a range of excellent secondary schools to meet children’s individual needs and interests, and I am pleased the majority of children have been allocated a place at one of their preferred schools. I would like to wish everyone finding out their allocated place the very best at their new school.”

Cllr Josie Iles, Medway Council’s lead member for children’s services, said: “Despite the ongoing challenging times both children and families face, today is a very exciting time for those finding out where they will be studying come September. I wish the children all the best as they take their next step into secondary school.

“I would also like to thank our admissions team for all their hard work.”

A total of 96.2% of primary-aged children in Medway have been offered a place at one of their preferred secondary schools - parents could make up to six choices - and almost 94% have been awarded either their first, second or third preference.

A total of 91% of children have been allocated a place at their first or second choice school.

For more details about Leigh Academy Rainham, visit leighacademiestrust.org.uk

Read more: All the latest news from Medway