Decision day: David Cameron's daughter Nancyis among tens of thousands of children who will found out today if they have got in to their first choice . Almost half the children in some areas were yesterday denied their preferred secondary school as pressure grows on places. Tens of thousands of ten and 11-year-olds across the country were not given their first choice when councils announced allocations. Cities including London and Birmingham saw three in ten miss out on their favourite, while in several areas that figure was four or nearly five in ten. Competition for places is getting fiercer in many areas which have seen population increases fuelled partly by immigration. Experts said the crisis over places which has affected primary schools for several years is now transferring to secondary schools. However, efforts to expand schools in metropolitan areas where demand is most acute have been slowed by the high costs of creating new buildings. Councils notified parents of their children’s fate yesterday by email or letter, meaning some families will not receive the news for several days. The allocations to more than half a million families are likely to result in a large number of appeals. In the capital, where applications rose by 4 per cent to 84,140 compared to 80,966 the previous year, 32 per cent did not get their first choice. And while 14 per cent managed to get their second choice, 6 per cent failed to get into any of their six choices. In Hammersmith and Fulham, 45 per cent were denied their first choice. In Wandsworth and Westminster 42 per cent missed out. In Birmingham, where 14,625 of the city’s pupils applied for a secondary place, 32 per cent were rejected by their first choice, a slight rise on last year’s 30 per cent. In Bristol, 25 per cent missed out on their favourite school while Buckinghamshire was unable to offer first choice places to 26 per cent. In Essex, 14 per cent did not get their first choice. In Birmingham a third of children missed out on their first choice of secondary school, with just 68.5 per cent getting their first option. In other areas - such as Cornwall - almost all children got the place they wanted . This graph shows the percentage of children who got their first choice of school. Many children living in big cities will have to go to their second choice . David Cameron is to become the first Conservative prime minister to send a child to a state secondary school after receiving offers of a place yesterday. His daughter Nancy is understood to have applied to several London schools, including some of the most competitive in the country. ‘We have been round three or four schools in London and had a good look,’ the Prime Minister said recently. ‘My daughter has got a very large say in the matter.’ Mr Cameron and his wife Samantha are understood to have included the Grey Coat Hospital academy, a Church of England school a short walk from Downing Street, on their list of applications. The school is rated outstanding by Ofsted and is one of the most sought-after in the area, with seven applications for every place. It takes girls aged 11 to 18 and boys only in the sixth form. The Camerons have also considered Lady Margaret School, an academy in Fulham, West London, also a Church of England school rated outstanding. And they are thought to have looked at Holland Park School, one of the first comprehensives in the UK where Labour grandees such as the late Tony Benn sent their children. Mrs Cameron, who was educated at private Marlborough College, is said to have told friends she is keen for Nancy to have a ‘normal education’. Yesterday’s figures show around 42 per cent of applicants in Westminster have not been given their first preference of school. In some areas competition was less fierce, with 98 per cent getting their first preference in Cornwall and more than 95 per cent in Swindon, Derbyshire, Doncaster, Durham and East Riding. Under the admissions system, families list their school preferences and are then allocated places according to the schools’ admissions criteria. Factors can include proximity to the school, faith or ability – with some schools specifying how many bright, average and low ability pupils they will admit. Some of the most popular choices are grammar and faith schools, as well as well-performing free schools and academies. Helen Jenner, chairman of the Pan London Admissions Board, said: ‘Demand for places is growing, as we are beginning to see the pressure on primary schools transfer to secondary.’ Rachel Burrows, editor of the Netmums website, said: ‘It has never been harder to get your child into the school you want. The system is simply not working for schools or parents.’ Early analysis suggests that, outside the capital, around one in seven pupils will miss out on their first choice of school this year. This figure is based on 23 authorities that gave full figures. In London, just over two-thirds – 67.56 per cent – of applicants have got their top choice. The proportion of children gaining their first choice of secondary school fell for the first time in five years in 2014. Around 14.8 per cent of applicants – about 77,100 youngsters – missed out, up from 13.3 per cent in 2013. A Department for Education spokesman said the Government had invested more than £5billion to create more than 445,000 new school places since 2010. He added: ‘Last year over 95 per cent of parents got one of their top three choices.’ Low figures: Of the parents who applied to Birmingham City Council, pictured, one in three were rejected from their first choice school and one in ten were offered places outside the city . West Berkshire: 92 per cent . Derbyshire: 95.4 per cent . Birmingham: 68.5 per cent . Herefordshire: 94.95 per cent . Cornwall: 97.85 per cent . East Riding: 97.2 per cent . North Somerset: 92 per cent . Lincolnshire: 93 per cent . North Lincolnshire: 92.07 per cent . Plymouth: 94.86 per cent . Bournemouth: 88.5 per cent . Southampton: 86.4 per cent . Sandwell: 73.92 per cent . Bristol: 75 per cent . Poole: 87 per cent . Sheffield: 86.48 per cent . Kirklees: 83.1 per cent . Leicestershire: 94.2 per cent . Leeds: 83 per cent . Warwickshire: 79.65 per cent . Hartlepool: 93 per cent . Rochdale: 90 per cent . Essex: 86 per cent . York: 92.1 per cent . Sefton: 92 per cent . Swindon: 95.6 per cent . Nottinghamshire: 94.2 per cent . Torbay: 84.13 per cent . Portsmouth: 86.4 per cent . Redcar and Cleveland: 96.97 per cent . Bracknell Forest: 78 per cent . Doncaster: 95 per cent . St Helens: 95.3 per cent . Tameside: 86.8 per cent . West Sussex: 87.5 per cent . Buckinghamshire: 74.01 per cent . Durham: 95.8 per cent . Derby: 86.1 per cent . Hertfordshire: 94.86 per cent . Wokingham: 84 per cent . Brighton and Hove: 81.17 per cent .
David Cameron's child  Nancy being told where she has been accepted . Likely to have been offered a place at state school close to Downing Street . Thousands of other children failed to get first choice, council figures reveal . In Birmingham 32 per cent of 11-year-olds - 4,000 - were left disappointed . Around a third of children in London missed out on preferred secondary . In Bristol and Sandwell near West Bromwich 1 in 4  didn't get first choice . Virtually all children in Cornwall and East Riding  got preferred place .