NINETY per cent of parents in Oxfordshire applying for primary school places for their children this year got their first choice of school.

Emails and letters were sent to parents who applied before the January deadline.

First choice preferences were offered to 90.66 per cent of parents, up from 85.25 per cent last year.

Second place preferences were given to 5.16 per cent of applicants.

The council received more than 7,300 applications for 8,000 places.

The news came as councillors backed plans to expand two Oxford primary schools yesterday.

The county faces a squeeze on pressure on primary school places as officials have predicted an increase in primary school-age pupils from 45,800 in 2010/11 to around 50,000 in 2015/16.

Oxfordshire County Council’s cabinet approved proposals to increase the school admission number at St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School in Headington from 45 to 60 per year and Wolvercote Primary from 30 to 45.

Statutory notices, which set out the proposals, will now be published.