Maidstone

Laura Warren’s daughter, Amelia, got a place at her secondary school in Maidstone, Kent, because the family lives just a fifth of a mile inside the catchment area. “It’s a fine line that changes every year depending on how many siblings get places first,” Ms Warren, a communications manager, says.

Cheating parents cannot be condoned, Ms Warren adds, but she understands how they can be forced to go to such lengths as renting houses or “finding God” to get their child a place.

“All parents ever want is the right school for their child. Year on year, parents are being put in this position.

“I can’t endorse people doing the wrong thing but I can absolutely understand what drives them to do that.”

Ms Warren questions whether the Government should be looking at making schools more equal in the first instance, rather than prosecuting parents who use underhand tactics to secure their child a place. “When you are looking for where to send your child you haven’t got time to wait until they build a new good school. There’s no use knowing that in three years time there will be something better on offer.”

Amelia, 12, attends Maplesden Noakes School, a comprehensive in Maidstone where the grammar school system is still in place. Ms Warren says: “The problem is really focused in Kent — for grammar schools it doesn’t matter how far away you live. But the other 90 per cent of children can only go to their nearest school.”

Brighton and Hove

Priti Barua lives in Brighton and was one of the first parents to go through the controversial admissions lottery introduced two years ago in the city.

“We were guinea-pigs for a system that hadn’t been tried or tested,” Dr Barua, 43, says.

“It was a horrendous time. It was the not knowing, not being sure what the turnout was going to be.”

Her daughter Prisha, 12, did get the school of her choice through the lottery but the family is still not convinced it is the best system of allocation.

“We are extremely happy that we landed on our feet but it was pure luck rather than a fair chance,” Dr Barua, a dental surgeon, says.

“It’s not a fair or equal system because all the schools offered are not equal. I think they watered down the heart of the local community — they segregated the community when it wasn’t necessary.”

She hopes that her son Nirvan, 10, will not have to go through the lottery system because his sister is already at the school of their choice and that he will get a place through “sibling link” process.

“Education is a huge gift that you give your children. It should be available to everyone and we should be working hard to make that happen,” Dr Barua says.

West Norwood, South London

Edurne Bengoa’s daughter was turned away from the primary school opposite her house.

A railway line separating Hitherfield Primary and the Bengoas’ house in West Norwood meant the proximity of the two was not taken into account and Lola Peach Bengoa, now 6, could not get a place.

“They said the demand was much greater than supply, I wanted a school that I could walk to. I put all my closest schools on the form. I wasn’t even going for the best schools,” Mrs Bengoa, 40, says.

The school gave places based on the shortest journey time. Mrs Bengoa says: “We started a campaign and we got Lambeth Council involved. We wrote to all the councillors and to Tessa Jowell, our MP.”

Mrs Bengoa, a sound team leader at BBC studios, also appealed against the decision to offer her daughter a school 40 minutes’ walk away with a dangerous crossing to negotiate on the way.

“I knew I probably wouldn’t win but it was a stand I wanted to make. I didn’t have a choice and I thought the whole process was wrong. I tried to make that point to them.”

Mrs Bengoa lost that case but after a long campaign the local authority decided to create an extra class at another primary school, Elmwood, which was 20 minutes away. Mrs Bengoa took the place and is now very happy with the school. But her fight is not over. “We want a new school in the area. All they are doing is adding temporary classes everywhere, which is not a good solution for anyone.”

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