The Cherwell School was the most crowded secondary school in Oxfordshire last year, new figures show.

The state school in Marston Ferry Road, Oxford, had 2,062 pupils enrolled last year despite having just 1,850 places.

Figures from the Department for Education figures show that 23 schools were full or overcrowded across Oxfordshire in the 2021-22 academic year.

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Of these, nine were secondary schools while 14 were primary schools.

The most crowded primary school was Tetsworth Primary School in the village near Thame. The school had 67 students on role and just 56 places.

Across England last year, 17 per cent of primary schools and 23 per cent of secondary schools were full or over capacity.

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.

Jon Andrews, Education Policy Institute head of analysis, said it caused additional demands on teaching staff and left pupils without their preferred choice of school.

He added: “With our research having revealed that pupils from more affluent backgrounds more frequently succeed via these routes of appeal, it’s likely that disadvantaged pupils will suffer to a greater extent from the effects of schools being over capacity.”

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

He 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."

He said the system "desperately" needed to be reviewed and added struggling schools need more support.”

The Department for Education said most state schools that exceeded their capacity were over by fewer than 10 pupils. About seven per cent of schools exceeded their capacity by 10 or more students.

The proportion of over-capacity schools is expected to fall in the coming years, with the Department for Education estimating that the total pupil population will drop by over 900,000 between 2022 and 2032.

A spokesperson said the department had 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.”