THOUSANDS of children across Dorset and Hampshire will find out today which secondary school they will attend from September.

They have been waiting for several months for the news after applying for places last term.

In Bournemouth and Poole hundreds are waiting to discover whether they have gained places at the towns' grammar schools.

In all areas families will be anxiously waiting to discover if they have been given places at their first choice school or elsewhere.

Many secondary schools across the two counties will be over-subscribed while others will have hundreds of spare places.

Pressure on places is expected to increase in the coming years as the large number of children in primary schools in the area move up to secondary school.

Across the UK more than half a million children will be affected by announcements made throughout today.

Figures have been released by Bournemouth council, showing the offers given to pupils.  They apply to Bournemouth residents, not necessarily Bournemouth schools.

Bournemouth:

Total number of applicants: 1378

Offered first preference: 1220 (88.5%)

Offered second preference: 130 (9.4%)

Offered third preference: 21 (1.5%)

Offered none of three: 7 (0.5%)

Poole:

Total number of applicants: 1203

Offered first preference: 1051 (87%)

Offered second preference: 99 (8%)

Offered third preference: 23 (2%)

Dorset:

There were 3286 applicants for secondary schools and 1102 for upper schools. For secondary, 94.8 per cent secured their first preference, 3.7 per cent second and 0.5 per cent third. The remaining 0.18 per cent was allocated a different school. For upper schools the figures were 99.3 per cent, 0.4 per cent and 0.18 per cent respectively.