Parents are being reminded to apply for their children’s secondary school places.

Parents and carers of children due to start secondary school in September next year have until October 31 October to make an application.

Any applications made after the deadline are considered once all on time applications have been determined.

County councillor Ray Gooding, responsible for education, said: “It is crucially important that applications for secondary school places are submitted on time and I would urge all parents to ensure they have applied before the October 31 deadline.

“If they haven’t already done so, the October half term is the perfect time to complete an application.

“I would also encourage parents to use all six of the preferences and to carefully consider the admissions criteria for each school they wish to apply for.”

A record 87.58 per cent of children in Essex who started secondary school for the first time this September were offered their parents’ top preference of school in the 2017 admission round.

The authority plans to spend about £230million on creating further school places over the next three years to meet the rising demand.

For admissions criteria and to apply visit essex.gov.uk/admissions.