THE first day at school is among the most daunting of your life for many of us. For parents it is almost as stressful.

If little four-year-old twins Sammy and Saady Khayal had to go to separate schools it would have been awful for them and their mother and father. Thankfully the city council saw sense after The Argus got involved.

In September, Sammy and Saady will put on their school uniform for the first time and be waved in at a school which was the second choice for their parents.

But this happy story is not the picture everywhere. Councils waxed lyrical about more children going to one of their parents’ top three choices last week.

But the sad truth is that hundreds of parents received a letter telling them they missed out on all three.

A total of 117 children in Brighton and Hove did not get one from their top three choices and there were more than 700 in the rest of Sussex.

Try telling them that the figures are up and more people are getting one of their choices. Parents are also still upset with the catchment areas, meaning many missed out on their closest schools.

This is a nightmare for mums and dads and, yes, the figures are getting better, but it’s still not good enough.