Almost all the best secondary schools in some areas are now over-subscribed as a baby boom fuelled by migration takes its toll.
New figures show schools rated ‘outstanding’ by Ofsted receive more applicants than there are places in nearly 100 per cent of cases in the most overpopulated regions.
Across the country, over half of all secondary schools are oversubscribed and are forced to turn children down – while in London the figure is two thirds. But information released by local councils under the Freedom of Information Act show the extent to which competitive parents are clamouring to gain places at the very best schools.
In the West Midlands, 97 per cent of outstanding-rated schools are oversubscribed – while in the East of England it is 94 per cent.
In London, which has seen particularly high migration for the last two decades, 92 per cent of schools have too many applicants.
A bulge in the pupil population has caused a places crisis in primary schools for many years – but now that problem is transferring to secondaries as the extra children get older.
It comes just days before the October 31 deadline for parents to submit applications for children starting secondary school next autumn.
FindASchool, a service run by 192.com which compiled the figures for school placement this autumn, said hundreds of new secondary schools would be needed in the next ten years.
Website spokesman Dominic Blackburn said: ‘The data we collected shows an alarming trend that secondary schools are becoming increasingly difficult to secure a place at.
‘Clearly, not enough is being done to increase the number of school places and give parents a genuine choice of school.
‘The days of assuming you can just send your children to the best local school where they will get a place are over.’
One secondary school has a successful admission distance of just 392 metres, FindASchool found.
This year, Birmingham city council had over 2,000 more children entering primary school than were starting secondary.
This means that in seven years, when this primary cohort moves on to secondary school, Birmingham will need to be provide at least 2,000 more places - or around 70 extra classes.
Around one in six children in England missed out on a place at their top choice of secondary school this year, according to Government statistics.
In total, 84.1 per cent of 11-year-olds across the country were given a spot at their first preference, compared with 84.2 per cent in 2015.
Separate Department for Education (DfE) figures released in July suggest that the secondary school population is projected to continue increasing to 3.04 million by 2020, and peak at 3.33 million in 2025.
A Department for Education spokesperson said: 'These figures do not paint the full picture as they do not take into account the new places that will be created in the future, nor the surplus places that are already available.
'Over nine in 10 parents in England received an offer at one of their top three preferred secondary schools this year.
'We are delivering good quality school places to ensure every child has an excellent education that allows them to reach their full potential.
'Nearly 600,000 additional pupil places were created between May 2010 and May 2015, in response to the growth in the school age population, and we are investing £7 billion in new places up to 2021.'