Applications for London secondary schools have risen by 5% as competition for state places intensifies across England.

About 500,000 pupils across the country were told on Monday which school they will attend this autumn. But the effects of a baby boom in the capital means the fight for a place at a first-choice school is tougher than ever.

There has been an 8.2% rise in London’s school-age population compared with 0.2% nationally.

Helen Jenner, chair of the Pan London Admissions Board, said: “London local authorities are working with schools to expand provision, but as demand for secondary places increases as the primary pupil pressure transfers through the system, so will the challenges.”

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A report by the Sutton Trust found that, as the number of academies grows and more schools have responsibility for their own admissions policies, more schools are using banding and random allocation to ensure a more mixed ability intake.

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