More than 96 per cent of Hertfordshire children have been allocated a place at one of their preferred primary schools this year.

Of the 14,727 applications for reception places received, 14,188 children have been allocated a ranked primary school.

Of these 85 per cent (12,516) were allocated their first ranked school – compared to 82 per cent last year.

Taking into account allocations to junior and middle schools, nearly 18,000 Hertfordshire families will be informed of their offer of a school place today or tomorrow.

Parents and carers in Hertfordshire who have registered an email address will be sent their allocations from 4pm today (Tuesday April 18). Allocation information will then be made available online at http://www.hertfordshire.gov.uk/primaryoptions

Applicants who have not been offered their first preference school will automatically be placed on the continuing interest list for any schools named higher on their application form than the school offered.

Jenny Coles, director of children’s services, said: “We want all children to have access to a good education so they can reach their full potential, with the right number of school places in the right location, so I’m delighted that the vast majority of children have been allocated one of their ranked schools.

“This is a significant challenge given there are 10,000 more children under the age of four in Hertfordshire today than a decade ago.

“However, we are committed to ensuring that where the county’s population grows we build the appropriate infrastructure and have spent more than £200m since 2010 to provide more than 3,800 additional reception places.

"We are working alongside free schools and academies to attract extra funding for more school places where they are most needed.”

Information concerning post allocation processes, including school summary reports, is available at http://www.hertfordshire.gov.uk/primaryoptions