Hundreds of children miss out on reception places (From Epsom Guardian)

Hundreds of Surrey children miss out on reception class places

12:45pm Tuesday 1st May 2012 in News By Louise Robertson

Around 645 Surrey children failed to get into a reception class at their school of choice, it has emerged.

Surrey County Council said 95 per cent of 12,918 children who applied for a reception school place got one of their three preferred places, and 83 per cent got their top choice.

These figures were an improvement on last year but the council refused to release figures on how many children applied for a junior school place.

According to council statistics, 86 per cent of children who applied to junior school got their first choice, and 94 per cent got one of their three junior school preferences.

Nicky Owen, a mother-of-two from Claygate, has until May 18 to appeal after her four-year-old son Freddy failed to get any of his three preferences.

He was instead offered a school outside of the borough - the Greville Primary School in Ashtead.

She criticised the council’s as the crow flies policy and said they would have to walk two miles and take two trains - a journey which would take one hour and 20 minutes.

Mrs Owen said she or her husband would have to give up their job to make it possible, something they could not consider in the current climate.

She said: "I appreciate you don’t have an absolute right to choose your child’s school, but you do have the right to have an education for your child without them being exhausted from their journey.

"He won’t be mixing with kids in his area and I don’t think it’s right that he be excluded from the area in which he lives.

"Someone at the council even suggested putting him in a taxi - a four year old? It’s absolutely farcical."