Smaller proportions of children are gaining places at their preferred secondary school in many areas of England, a survey suggests.

Early figures also indicate that in some parts of the country, more than a quarter of families have missed out on their first choice – rising to nearly two in five pupils in some London boroughs.

Hundreds of thousands of families across England are finding out which secondary school they will be joining this September, on what is commonly known as National Offer Day.

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