Secondary school place applications are becoming more competitive each year.

Parents and students face anxious waits to find out where they will be taught, with many not gaining a place at their first choice.

Related: Race for a primary school place

Christleton High School was the most oversubscribed secondary school in Cheshire with 660 applicants last year for 200 spots.

It also had the highest ratio of first choice preferences to openings with 1.3 per place.

The Bishops’ Blue Coat CE High School in Chester followed with 561 applications made for 180 available places.

Only around two-thirds (69.1%) of pupils who put Bishop Heber High School, Malpas, as their first choice actually got in.

Schools base their admissions criteria on a range of factors.

These include how close each applicant lives, whether a sibling is enrolled already and which primary school they went to.

Academies can set their own criteria as long as they comply to the School Admissions Code.

Related: How the figures were compiled

Pupils applying for St Thomas More Catholic High School in Crewe needed to live about 10 minutes walk away, or 0.53 miles, based on the distance of the last place given for September 2015.

Overall the school had two applications for each place, with estimates based on a walking speed of three miles per hour.

Related: School Open Days - making the most of your visit to see a school

Did your child miss out on their favoured secondary school? What can be done to improve the number of those missing out? Let us know in the comments below.