Doncaster's XP is named as one of top five most over subscribed schools in England

The XP School, which is based near to Doncaster Rovers’ Eco Power Stadium, offers just under 50 places – but latest figures revealed 209 parents and pupils had picked it out as their first prefernce when applying for schools.

It means XP is the fourth most over subscribed in the country behind Wolverhampton’s Royal School, Seven Kings School in Redbridge and Woodmansterne School in Lambeth.

Nearly nine in ten parents didn't get their first choice of a place at The Royal School, England’s most oversubscribed school for this September.

With children returning to school for the new year, applications for places for those set to start primary or secondary school next September are starting to open.

The application deadline for applying for a secondary place is October 31, while it is January 15, 2023, for primary applications.

For this September, 83% of applicants got their first choice of secondary school, up from 81% in 2021. This increase is affected by the return of selective school tests to their original timetable.

Applicants for 2022 places knew whether they were eligible to be considered for selective schools before having to make their school choices, while in the previous year applications had been before the tests, meaning fewer applications were rejected for those who didn’t later reach the standard needed to be eligible for an offer..

The proportion of primary school applicants who received their first choice school remained at 92%.

This was based on a 1% drop in the number of applicants for a place at primary school, to around 576,100. This is likely to be a result of the continued drop in births seen from 2016 onwards.

The data from the Department for Education is based on figures from National Offers Day, so data held directly by individual schools may differ, for example, because late applications were included.

The free school is part of the XP School Trust, famous for pioneering an alternative method of education focused on creativity as well as academic progress. Pupils are given increased freedoms, conduct their own research and do not need to wear uniforms.