By Seonag Mackinnon BBC Scotland Education Correspondent

Some parents favour schools where pupils wear uniform Drop in placing requests

The headline figures is a fall of 5% in the number of parents trying to send their children to a school outside their catchment.

But the drop to 28, 645 is being linked to falling numbers of school-age children, in line with the birth rate in recent years.

The proportion of families trying to opt out of their local school is largely unchanged from last year's level.

Among families with children starting secondary, 13% put in placing requests to a school outside their catchment. For those with children starting primary, the proportion is an astonishing 22%.

Some families are left disappointed. The local authorities who run our state schools turn down 15% of applications, commonly stating that they don't have enough staff in the school.

According to Professor Brian Boyd, of Strathclyde University's education faculty, some parents opting out are failing to do their homework first.

Schools that sometimes appear to be successful in terms of exam league tables are not necessarily those which meet the need of each individual youngster Prof Brian Boyd Strathclyde University

He said: "My perception is that most people making placing requests are doing it on the basis of inadequate and out of date information.

"It seems to me that schools that sometimes appear to be successful in terms of exam league tables are not necessarily those which meet the need of each individual youngster.

"My advice would always be to go and visit your local school before listening to neighbours or rumours about how good or poor they are."

Judith Gillespie, of the Scottish Parent Teacher Council, also urges parents to support their local school. She said it would help create "vibrant communities".

But many parents find to difficult to entrust their children to certain schools.

They fear there may be pressure from classmates to underachieve if there isn't a critical mass of pupils with high expectations. And it's unclear to them that one school is as well run as another.

Anecdotal evidence suggests that in Britain school uniform sways many parents.

Parental guidance

As a depute head once said "It makes people think the kids aren't just here to get out of the rain."

Critics say uniform is a superficial way of picking a school.

Some parents check annual exam results at individual schools in the press and on Learning and Teaching Scotland's website which also offers local and national averages.

But these guides aren't detailed enough to indicate whether a school advantaged by high numbers of middle class pupils who tend to do well in exams, is in reality, coasting.

And the guides don't indicate whether a school in a tougher area is punching above its weight.

Critics suggest that, in any case, exam results shouldn't drive placing requests. They point out good results aren't the be-all and end-all. Some even say they get in the way of a good education.