CUMBRIA provides 'excellent' access to primary schools for 2023/24 according to data.

Ahead of the primary school application deadline on Sunday, January 15, research has revealed that Cumbria is providing some of the best access to primary school places in England in 2023/24.

The data from The Access group, compared new Census demographic data and local authority school listings to establish the potential of pupils per school for all locations in England.

The data also collated figures and datasets from Cumbrian district councils such as Allerdale, Barrow-in-Furness, Carlisle, Copeland, Eden and South Lakeland.

In these figures, Cumbria offers the third best access to primary school places, with 4418 children entering each of the region's 310 schools. 

This equates to 14.3 children per school in the county, with Cumbria only beaten for the best access by North Yorkshire with 14.2 and Rutland with 12.9 children per school.

Jane Gibson, product manager (education) at The Access Group explained the figures.

She said: "Admissions is a stressful time for parents as your child’s school can have a big impact on their future.

"Even on a smaller scale, if you fail to get into your first-choice school, there’s a risk of being separated from friends, or you might add on extra travel time to get your child to the school gates every morning.

"Schools also often ‘hold their breath’ at this time of year too.

"Pupil numbers can affect their funding, which in turn can lead to difficult decisions regarding staffing levels, budget allocation and more."

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