Nearly 90 per cent of pupils in Blackburn with Darwen got their first choice of primary school this year.

Primary school places were announced on Friday with 89.7 per cent, or 1,791, of pupils in Blackburn with Darwen being awarded a place at their first choice school.

This is higher than last year when 87.7 per cent, or 1,821 pupils, were offered their first choice of school.

This year 5.7 per cent (114) of pupils were offered their second choice while 1.5 per cent (30) got their third choice while 3.2 per cent (63) were not offered any of their top three schools.

Last year 7 per cent (146) of pupils got their second choice school, 1.9 per cent (40) got their third choice while 3.4 per cent (71) were offered a school they did not choose.

In total, 1,998 pupils applied for a primary school place in 2021 compared with 2,078 applications in the 2020 intake.

Executive Member for Children, Young People and Education, Cllr Julie Gunn said: "We always try and make sure that parents get their first choice but I think that improvement is good.

"The important thing is when children get to school they settle in and enjoy it and have a good school career.

"Whenever children go, we know they are going to go to a good school in Blackburn with Darwen."

In comparison, Lancashire County Council saw a higher number of pupils getting their preferred choice of school, with 91.47 per cent of pupils being accepted at their top choice.

Read More: Over 9 in 10 children accepted to their first choice primary school