Hundreds of Birmingham youngsters were waking up today to discover they had missed out on winning a place at any of their favoured primary schools, figures have revealed.
School admissions statistics released by Birmingham City Council have revealed 826 pupils were not given any of the three primary schools they listed as their preferred choices.
The figures show that, of the 15,785 children who applied for a reception place to start this September, 5.2 per cent missed out on all of their options.
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However, 13,375 children (84.7 per cent) were offered a place at their first preferred school, while a further 1,134 (7.2 per cent) were offered their second preferred school and 450 (2.9 per cent) have been offered their third preferred school.
The news was being broken by email this morning to the 12,108 parents who applied for a place for their child online while offer letters are being sent by first class post and are expected to arrive at other applicants' homes by tomorrow.
Parents are being reminded to ensure that, once they have received their offer, they remember to accept or appeal it.
"You must complete and return the reply slip at the bottom of your offer letter by Thursday April 30 indicating whether or not you are accepting the place offered," read a warning on the council's website.
"Failure to reply by this date means you are at risk of losing the offer made."
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It comes as a baby boom has left primary schools facing a capacity crisis in the West Midlands - with not enough places for pupils due to start reception in 2017.
The Local Government Association has revealed council-run schools in Birmingham, Sandwell, Solihull and Wolverhampton will be full to overflowing in two years' time. It is due to a population boom and a rise in immigration.
In Birmingham, there are currently 106,292 pupils of primary age living in the city, taking up 96 per cent of available school places.
But according to the new LGA figures, that number could rise to 113,428 by September 2017, taking the capacity to 102 per cent.