Leeds schools: Every full or overcapacity secondary school in the city including Abbey Grange and Leeds City

The Education Policy Institute said areas with schools operating close to or over capacity see teaching staff facing additional demand. A school is at or in excess of capacity when the number of pupils enrolled is greater than or equal to its number of places.

Department for Education (DfE) figures show 59 schools were at or over capacity in Leeds in the 2021-22 academic year. Of them, 47 were primary schools and 12 were secondary schools. Across England, 17% of primary schools were full or over capacity while 23% of secondary schools, including sixth forms, were at or above capacity last year.

The most over-capacity secondary school in the city was University Technical College Leeds, which had 386 pupils and 300 places last year. The school, which specialises in STEM subjects for Year 10 upwards, was over capacity by 29% – although one of its founders has previously contested the DfE figures and told the Yorkshire Evening Post it has capacity for just over 600 pupils.

Geoff Barton, Association of School and College Leaders general secretary, said arrangements are put in place to accommodate pupils where a school is over-subscribed.

Mr Barton added: "The bigger issue is that this situation is often driven by Ofsted judgements rather than a shortage of school places in the system as a whole because many parents apply for schools with ‘good’ and ‘outstanding’ ratings. It drives up property prices in certain areas and stigmatises schools in other areas."

A Department for Education spokesperson said it has created almost 1.2 million school places since 2010 and added many more are "in the pipeline".

They said: “The vast majority of schools listed as overcapacity are either at or just over recorded capacity, and we work closely with local authorities to make sure they offer a school place to every child in country.”