Almost 90 per cent of parents and carers in North Yorkshire secured their preferred secondary school for their child, continuing the county’s high level of success in recent years. A total of 89.83 per cent secured their first preference, with almost 97 per cent of all families who requested a place for September 2026 receiving an offer for one of their top three preferences. Nationally, only 83.5 per cent of applicants received an offer for their first-choice school last year.
This year, 6,059 pupils from the county are transferring to secondary school. North Yorkshire Council’s executive member for education, learning and skills, Cllr Annabel Wilkinson, said:
“Starting secondary school is a major milestone in a child’s education and we always want the admissions process to be as easy as possible for families. I am delighted with the number of young people allocated their first preference secondary school in North Yorkshire. We continue to work hard to ensure our secondary schools have the capacity to meet the requests for places and we are proud of our education record which strives to give every child the best start in life.”
Cllr Wilkinson added:
“I would like to thank our schools for all their support and for working so closely with families to ensure the council received as many on-time applications as possible. I wish all children who are moving from primary to secondary school this September every success and happiness.”
Within North Yorkshire, parents can state their preference for up to five schools. For children currently in Year 5 due to start in September 2027, the application window opens on September 12th, 2026. Following the current allocations, the Council will review eligibility for free home-to-school transport and notify families by May 18th. Free travel is typically provided to the nearest suitable school if it exceeds statutory walking distances (two miles for children under eight, and three miles for those eight and up), or if the route is assessed as unsafe.
