The number of parents using Surrey County Council’s online school places form has rocketed by nearly 150 per cent in a year.

The council received 6,170 online applications for primary and secondary school places this September before last October’s closing date – meaning about one in five parents filled in their form online. The figure represents a rise of 144 per cent on the 2,526 online applications received for a school place last September.

Parents who miss the closing date for applications – October 22 for infant, junior and primary schools and October 23 for secondary – reduce their chances of getting one of their three preferred schools because their forms will not be dealt with until after all the other applications have been processed.

The number of late applications received fell by nearly 50 per cent this year and the council is urging parents to go online to make the process of picking their preferred schools as straightforward as possible.

Every year the council deals with about 27,000 applications for school places. This year, nine out of 10 pupils were offered a place at one of their preferred schools and nearly eight out 10 got their first preference at secondary level