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Headline: Lottery of school places backed
Description: Admissions arrangements are governed by a code of practice
Ministers have given their support to the allocation of places at over-subscribed schools by lottery.

An academy in south London is one of a number of schools now allocating some of its places to children in the area on a random basis.

The arrangements are seen as a way of breaking social segregation, particularly where better-off families buy up homes near popular schools.

They are listed as acceptable in a new draft code on school admissions.

The south London academy which has brought in the scheme is the Haberdashers' Aske's Hatcham College Academy in Lewisham.

This year more than 2,500 parents were chasing the 208 places available for 11-year-olds.

About half of the places were allocated to children with special needs, children in care, siblings of existing pupils and to the 10% of the whole intake selected on musical aptitude.

Of the remaining places, half were allocated on proximity to the school, while the other half were selected at random from within the school's three-mile catchment area.

Better-off
The arrangements would have been scrutinised by ministers before the school was granted academy status, as admissions form part of the funding agreement the Department for Education and Skills has with groups wanting to set up academies.

Martin Rogers, of the Education Network, an independent body which advises local councils, believes the policy will be good for education and society.

"It is a welcome attempt to break the strangle-hold of the better-off on the most over-subscribed schools," he told the BBC News Website.

"It's not a healthy trend that society is increasingly segregated - whether by wealth, class or religion.

"There could also potentially be major educational gains as a number of people who might not have expected to get in will be able to. The families of those they displace might then take more interest in other schools in the area."

Random allocation can be popular with parents because it's not subjective and gives an equal opportunity of admission
says a DfES spokesman

But not everyone is happy with the arrangements. The Neilson family live 600 metres from the Haberdashers' Aske's Hatcham College Academy and failed to get their son in this year.

Grant Neilson told the BBC News website: "The system is wrong. Our son is now travelling four miles to school when he could have walked to Haberdashers' in 10 minutes.

"Meanwhile, people are coming in from all around the area, even some distance away."

The family lodged an appeal but were unsuccessful.

Iryna Neilson, the boy's mother, said: "I strongly disagree with the new approach of random allocation. It shows that children's future is now a lottery to the education authority."

Other schools and academies are also taking similar steps. At the Walsall Academy, a "doughnut" system of admissions has been introduced to try to achieve a mix of pupils from different backgrounds.

The school's catchment area is split into an inner and outer ring, with a proportion of places set aside for children from each zone.

The government confirmed the arrangements were acceptable.

A spokesman said: "As the prime minister has said, academies are oversubscribed which is a sign of their popularity and success with parents and pupils.

"Academies are not treated any differently to other schools. They can choose their own oversubscription criteria as long as these are fair, clear and objective and follow the code of practice.

"Haberdasher's Aske has decided to use random allocation - which can be popular with parents because it's not subjective and gives an equal opportunity of admission."

The code of practice on school admissions is being redrafted and refers to the use of random allocation as "appropriate and acceptable practice". It is the first time this policy has been included in the code.


Date: 02.10.2005
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