With thousands of parents today receiving secondary school offers, I am pleased to welcome the news that 319, 281 more children in our region are attending good and outstanding schools.
There are now 1,074,762 pupils attending good and outstanding schools in our region, compared with 755,481 in 2010. This means that more young people will have the opportunity to develop the skills they need to excel later in life.
Since 2010, 735,000 additional school places have been created - with 136,000 created in the last year alone – meaning parents now have greater choice over where their children go to school. 83 per cent of pupils were offered a place at their first choice secondary school last year, and nine out of ten pupils now get one of their top three choices of schools. 1.9 million more children are attending good or outstanding schools, compared with 2010, and £5.8 billion is being invested in creating even more good school places.
This is great news for Fareham and means that more children will gain the knowledge and skills they need for future success. It’s vital that opportunity is spread right across the country, so it’s encouraging to see that all English regions are benefiting for rising school standards. We want everyone to go as far as their talents will take them, and our reforms are ensuring that more young people are being given the opportunity to succeed.’