Extra 47 secondary school places found in Banbury
26/03/2026
Parents will still have to wait until May to see if their child can have one of them
An extra 47 secondary school places in Banbury have been found in the last few weeks, in the wake of the fiasco which saw local children told they would have to move up to a school in Bicester from September.
Sean Gaul, the councillor responsible for education in the county, told a meeting of Oxfordshire County Council that 30 extra places had now been found at the North Oxfordshire Academy and 17 more had become available following the first admission round.
It was hoped a further 24 places could be found, subject to discussions with another school in Banbury.
Following national offer day on March 2 a number of parents appealed the decision to send their children to Bicester. Despite the stressful situation, they are being told they must now await the outcome of a second admissions round in May.
Councillor Gaul told the meeting: “The admissions process – a legal process which is causing frustration because it means that families are waiting until the 8 May – is a process that works because 96 percent of Oxfordshire families secured a chosen school in the first admissions round.
“We do have an issue in Banbury and I have every confidence that Banbury school children will get Banbury school places come the second admissions round because of the work of this authority today.”
At the same meeting Councillor Kieron Mallon asked if the County Council had sufficient Section 106 funding available to provide a new secondary school in the Banbury area. He was advised that the administration didn’t know and would have to respond to the question later, in writing.
Published: by the Banbury FM News Team
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