Pressure is on to find school solution

FOUR-year-olds could be bussed across Bristol because of the pressure on primary school places in the centre and north of the city.

More than 300 children have not yet been given a reception class place to start in September.

The city council has promised that every pupil will be offered a place but admits, in some cases, these will be at a school further from home than children could reasonably be expected to walk.

Those allocated places more than two miles away will be given a bus pass for the child and a parent.

The council is also looking at shared transport, which would take groups of youngsters from the same area to a single school elsewhere.

Both solutions would raise the possibility of youngsters being driven daily to their allocated school, past other schools closer to their home but where they could not get a place.

Many parents who have failed to get their children into any one of three schools close to their homes say this is not a practical solution.

Liz Haydon-Turner, of Brynland Avenue, Bishopston, said: "I want my son Samuel to be educated in our local community. I think it is unreasonable for four-year-olds to be bussed.

"I have three young children and can't be taking them on the public bus with a double buggy at rush hour.

"I don't think it is right to use community minibuses either. Who will supervise the children on the bus – and how much will it cost? What happens if your child gets ill at school? And how tired will those children be?"

John Campbell, of Nevil Road , Bishopston, whose daughter Alice is one of those affected, said: "This makes a mockery of Bristol's claims to be a Green Capital. We live within walking distance of three schools yet can't get a place in any of them."

However, some families in the inner city favour the minibus idea, as they believe it will be better than the isolating and time-consuming experience of having to travel to school on public buses.

The council points out that more than four children in five have been granted places at their first-choice school.

Others have been given their second or third preference.

But the scale of the problem for those who have not been given a place at any of their local options is shown by the Post's map, which is based on the number of schools that on January 30 had allocated all their reception places.

The council's figures show 58 schools were oversubscribed, while 36 had spaces. This follows the offer of 3,940 places on that date, from a total of 4,247 individual applications received by the October deadline.

In three areas of Bristol (numbers 3, 4 and 6 on our map), almost all schools are oversubscribed, with only 15 places available in three out of 28 schools. Eight of those are in two Catholic schools, so children of that faith would be given priority.

The map also shows most of surplus places are in schools in the south of the city, the eastern fringe and the north west. Many of those with the most empty desks in this year's list are set to have their admission numbers reduced as part of the council's primary review, with two – Stockwood Green and St Pius X – scheduled to close.

Last year, the council put temporary classrooms at two schools, Sefton Park and Millpond, and took in extra pupils at several more: Hannah More, Filton Avenue, Christ Church, Horfield, Westbury-on-Trym, St Barnabas, Badock's Wood and Little Mead.

It is looking at its options for September and has raised the option of bussing groups of children for the first time.

The authority said in a statement: "Every child in Bristol whose parents or carers apply for a school place for September this year will be offered a place.

"So far we have allocated 93 per cent of applicants a place at one of their preferred schools. However, we can't guarantee all places will be at preferred schools, and in some cases, places will have to be allocated at a school that is further from home than children could reasonably be expected to walk.

"In the short term, we are working to increase capacity at a number of schools, mainly in central areas, so we can offer as many children as possible a school place close to their home.

"Budgets are limited and sites are constrained, so we know we cannot hope to provide all the additional temporary places we would wish for.

"We will therefore provide free travel where children need to go more than two miles to school and are working with community groups to identify better ways of supporting families, including shared transport.

"In the medium to long term, one of our objectives, as part of our major review of primary education, is to ensure primary school places are available where they are needed."