Nearly a third of pupils in London have not been given a place at their first-choice secondary school for this autumn, figures show.

Details released by the Pan-London Co-ordinated Admissions Scheme reveal that of the 77,755 pupils who applied for secondary school places 65 per cent of them received an offer from their preferred school.

More positively, the PLAB figures show 87 per cent of London children starting secondary school in September have been offered a place at one of their top three choices.

And 93 per cent of pupils have received a place at one of their six preferred schools.

Chairman of PLAB, Chris Kiernan, said: “For the seventh year running, London’s co-ordinated admissions system has been very successful in enabling more parents to be allocated a school of their preference by a fairer distribution of available offers.

“More than 93 per cent of pupils have an offer from a school of their preference and 65 per cent have been offered a place at their first-choice school.

“It is important to emphasise that, however proficient the admission system is – and our arrangements in London are about as efficient and fair as it is possible to have – it cannot create additional places at the most popular schools.”

Around half a million families across the country are receiving letters and emails informing them which school their child has been allocated.

Full results for how pupils have fared will be available later this month.

Last year one in six children in England did not get their first-choice secondary school.