More families than ever were expected to miss out on their first choice primary schools this week, as local councils released their first round of offers.

In a year when, nationally, 10 per cent of all families were not offered a place at their first preference school, Jewish schools reported unprecedented numbers of applicants.

In its first year of admissions, Yavneh Primary - which will open in Borehamwood in September - said that it had received 152 applications to fill 60 places. The school said there were 92 children on its waiting list, but it would not elaborate on how many of the places offered had gone to non-Jewish children. As a free school, it can only guarantee half of its places to Jewish children.

Rabbi Cobi Ebrahimoff, headteacher of Independent Jewish Day School in Hendon said he had been "bombarded by phone calls from parents. It's worse than it has been for a few years."

But he added: "I don't know if we are seeing a shortage of Jewish primary school places or whether it is because parents are becoming more particular about which primary school their children go to."

In Radlett, Hertsmere Jewish Primary School said that, of its 60 places, half had been offered to siblings. Another 60 children were now on the waiting list. A spokesperson for the school said: "We have certainly had more applications this year.

"Usually, we have about 150, but this year we received 180. Borehamwood is exploding with young families; but unfortunately, we don't have the capacity for even one more child."

Both Akiva School in Barnet and Sacks Morasha in Finchley said they had received more than double the number of applications available, while Moriah Jewish Day School in Pinner and Clore Shalom in Shenley said they had been more oversubscribed this year than in previous years.

A spokesperson for the Partnerships for Jewish Schools (Pajes) advised parents whose children had not yet received any offers to "be patient at this stage".