Ensuring your child has the best possible education is a priority for most parents and many will assume they will be able to secure a place at the best possible school.
However, recently published Government data shows this is not necessarily the case with thousands of children missing out on a place at their preferred schools.
Across England, applications for the current academic year resulted in eight per cent of primary school applicants and 17 per cent of secondary school applicants not getting a place at their first choice school, affecting nearly 150,000 children in total.
Across the North East, 10.8 per cent of pupils did not receive an offer for their selected secondary schools.
So just how competitive is it to get into your local secondary school? Here we reveal the five oversubscribed South Tyneside secondary schools which are the hardest to get into.
1. How difficult is it to get a place at your preferred secondary school?
With the deadline fast approaching for South Tyneside secondary school place applications, a significant number of children face the prospect of not getting a place at their preferred choice schools. Photograph: Google Photo: Google
2. Mortimer Community College
Mortimer Community College saw 287 applicants put the school as a first preference but only 199 of these were offered places. This means 88 children (30.7 per cent) did not get a place. Photo: Tim Richardson
3. Harton Academy
Harton Academy saw 295 applicants put the school as a first preference but only 251 of these were offered places. This means 44 children (14.9 per cent) did not get a place. Photo: JPI
4. Jarrow School
Jarrow School saw 176 applicants put the school as a first preference but only 158 of these were offered places. This means 18 children (10.2 per cent) did not get a place. Photo: Stu Norton