Hundreds of worried kids and anxious parents across south east London and north Kent will find out which secondary schools they will be attending in the autumn today (March 1).

Whilst many will be excited and pleased with their allocation, tens of thousands of children nationwide are expected to miss out on their first choice place.

Last year, around one in six did not get into their ideal school. Some 10 and 11 year olds may miss out on all their preferred options.

Primary schools have been struggling to keep up with the demand of a rising population in recent years, and now this strain is trickling through into secondary schools.

Mumsnet chief executive Justine Roberts said: "How well the school admissions system works depends almost entirely on where you live.

"Lots of parents are very content with the school places allocated to their children, but in some areas - parts of London, Bristol, East Sussex and Birmingham, for example - the admissions system is starting to feel seriously creaky.

"Stories abound of some families cheating the system, which only adds to people's anxiety and sense of injustice.

"Many Mumsnet users say that their children can't get into schools that are a few hundred metres away from their front doors.

"Parents are struggling, and the consensus on Mumsnet is that more needs to be done by central and local government to address the problems now, rather than waiting for places to come online in a few years."

The government says it has pumped £5bn into creating half-a-million new school places, and will spend a further £7bn over the next six years.

The Local Government Association has issued a fresh call for authorities to be able to open new academies, which are not under council control.

It warns that without these powers, councils will not be able to meet their legal duty and offer every child a school place.

Information on how to appeal is available here, or email: josie.griffiths@london.newsquest.co.uk if you are unhappy with your child's school allocation.

Last year, there were 54,600 appeals against school allocations - 3.7 per cent of the total number of admissions to state schools.

Just over a fifth (22.8 per cent) of the appeals actually heard by a panel were decided in favour of the parents.

Schools minister Nick Gibb said: "We want every parent to be able to send their children to a good local school.

"Despite rising pupil numbers the vast majority of parents are able to do so.

"We want to open 500 more new schools during the five years of this parliament."