“This year Reading has received applications for 2,144 children seeking a place at school for September 2012. This is an increase of 197 (10%) from last year, which follows the national trend. However in Reading only 6% fewer families have been offered their first preference at this stage. “A £20m investment has been made by the Council, over a five year period, to increase capacity in three schools with a further £1.8 million invested this year on temporary measures to cope with high demand in part caused by the economic pressures which are restricting the social mobility that has always been common in the borough. This means as families grow they are having to remain living in the same houses, which in turn puts additional pressure on school places in those areas. “The Council is working closely with schools across the Borough and we are confident we will at the end of the process accommodate all of the children who applied for a place. “As always, we have done everything possible to try to meet parents’ aspirations for where their children go to school and we fully understand that some parents will be disappointed. However, in the circumstances, we have done everything we can to distribute places as fairly as possible by following the published admission policies and processes. Details are as follows: 2012 2011 1st Preference 76.2% 82.3% 2nd Preference 10.7% 8.8% 3rd Preference 3.9% 3.9% 4th Preference 1.60% 0.92%