HUNDREDS of children across Sussex missed out on their top choice of primary school.

The families of three and four year olds due to start school in September found out yesterday where their children had been given places.

But almost 2,000 children across the county including more than one in ten children in Brighton and Hove, East and West Sussex missed out on their top choice.

A further 455 children did not get a place at any of their top three schools.

Aiga Berzina’s daughter Gabriella was one of those in Brighton and Hove to miss out.

The family live in Moulsecoomb, but had hoped that Latvian Gabriella would be able to go to the Bilingual Primary in Hove, which is nearer to Mrs Berzina’s work in a care home and would help her daughter expand her language skills.

Having applied for three schools in Hove, they have been allocated Moulsecoomb Primary - which they had not even visited.

Mrs Berzina, 32, said: “I am in bits.

“She goes to nursery in Hove, I work in Hove and I put Bilingual school and West Hove because it would be better not only for me, but also for my little girl.

“She already speaks fluently in two languages and wanted her to also learn Spanish.

“But now I’m worried I will have to quit my job because I won’t be able to get there.

“Her friends at nursery are going to the Bilingual school and she will be so disappointed to know she’s not going with her friends.”

Many families in the Hanover area of the city faced difficulties getting a place.

St Luke’s, Elm Grove and Queens Park schools were all oversubscribed, at St Luke’s 224 children applied for 90 places - leaving 52 not allocated any of their preferences.

Across the city 265 children in the city did not get their top choice, but this year’s figure was up by more than two percentage points from last year’s figure of 87.9 per cent.

A spokesman for the city council said: “More than 98 per cent of parents were offered one of their preferred schools. In line with the council’s published arrangements, those who were not offered a place at one of their preferred schools were offered places at the nearest school to their home address that had places available. “

In East Sussex, 87.1 per cent got their top choice.

Out of 5,629 in East Sussex 234 (or 4.2 per cent) did not get a place at any of their three preferred schools.

In West Sussex, 89.4 per cent of children (8,286) got their first choice but 176 - 1.9 per cent - of applications - did not get any of their top three choices.