§ Mrs. GormanTo ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will list his reasons for the guidance given in his draft admissions circular that early applications should not be used as a criterion for giving priority.
§ Mr. Robin SquireThe law requires LEAs and schools to operate an annual admissions cycle, and to publish relevant information for parents six weeks before the deadline for expressing preferences for applying for admissions. Many parents will want to take as much time as possible to study the information and consider which schools might be most suitable. To penalise such parents by giving a priority to early applications would be contrary to the Government's policy of encouraging the operation of informed parental choice.