793,000 school places remain empty.

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The news comes as the Conservatives are proposing creating additional 220,000 school places in order to give parents more choice. The Schools Minister has since challenged the Conservatives to explain how they will fund these additional places.

Currently one in six parents do not get their first choice school. The news comes as on Monday parents were told which secondary school their child will be attending.

The extra school places have been created by demographic trends and parents deciding to send their children elsewhere. In primary schools there are 483,000 extra places. The Department for Children, Schools and Families has said that the high level of empty places is a ‘poor use of resources'.

The school places and school choices issue is a much fought over one this election. The Conservatives want to make it easier for parents to create new schools and to give parents more choice. However the Labour party has challenged this, questioning where the funding for these schools will come from.

Report by Debbie Read