Ensuring your child has the best possible education is a priority for most parents and many will assume they will be able to secure a place at the best possible school.
However, recently published Government data shows this is not necessarily the case with thousands of children missing out on a place at their preferred schools.
Across England, applications for the current academic year resulted in eight per cent of primary school applicants and 17 per cent of secondary school applicants not getting a place at their first choice school, affecting nearly 150,000 children in total.
In Sunderland, parents are asked to submit three primary school choices in order of preference, but across the North East 3.9 per cent of children did not receive an offer for any of their selected schools.
So just how competitive is it to get into your local primary school? Here we reveal the 10 Sunderland Primary schools which are the hardest to get into.
1. How difficult is it to get into your first choice primary school?
A significant number of children don't get places at their preferred primary school. Photo: Google
2. St Josephs RC Primary School
St Josephs RC Primary School saw 48 applicants put the school as a first preference but only 30 of these were offered places. This means 18 children (37.5 per cent) did not get a place. Photo: IAN McCLELLANDwww.ianmacphotos.c
3. St Cuthberts RC Primary School
St Cuthberts RC Primary School saw 41 applicants put the school as a first preference but only 30 of these were offered places. This means 11 children (26.8 per cent) did not get a place. Photo: Tim Richardson
4. Barnwell Academy
Barnwell Academy saw 38 applicants put the school as a first preference but only 30 of these were offered places. This means 8 children (21.1 per cent) did not get a place. Photo: Dominic Lipinski