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Schools in more than a third of council areas are selecting low-ability students or using lotteries in an attempt to break the middle-class hold on the most sought-after places.
The number of authorities where such admission policies are used has increased sharply as competition for the best schools has intensified, a survey by The Daily Telegraph has found.
The rise of lotteries and so-called fair banding ââ¬â where test results are used to select a proportion of pupils with lower ability ââ¬â could thwart affluent families who have bought homes within the catchment areas of successful schools. They have often paid a premium of tens of thousands of pounds to do so.
This is the fifth year since councils were given the power to use such admissions techniques. Fair banding has since been encouraged by Michael Gove, the Education Secretary, who has said that it could help make schools truly comprehensive.
The disclosure comes ahead of admissions day on Tuesday when the parents of almost 540,000 children in England will find out which secondary school their son or daughter will go to in September.
At least 60,000 children are expected to miss their preferred school, one in nine. In some areas, 40 per cent of children are being turned down by their preferred school.
The Telegraph surveyed 150 councils in England with responsibility for education. Of 110 that responded, 27 said that some schools in their area were using lotteries to assign places, while 21 said some were using fair banding.
Full story: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/educatio...hool-lotteries-hitting-the-middle-class.html#
The number of authorities where such admission policies are used has increased sharply as competition for the best schools has intensified, a survey by The Daily Telegraph has found.
The rise of lotteries and so-called fair banding ââ¬â where test results are used to select a proportion of pupils with lower ability ââ¬â could thwart affluent families who have bought homes within the catchment areas of successful schools. They have often paid a premium of tens of thousands of pounds to do so.
This is the fifth year since councils were given the power to use such admissions techniques. Fair banding has since been encouraged by Michael Gove, the Education Secretary, who has said that it could help make schools truly comprehensive.
The disclosure comes ahead of admissions day on Tuesday when the parents of almost 540,000 children in England will find out which secondary school their son or daughter will go to in September.
At least 60,000 children are expected to miss their preferred school, one in nine. In some areas, 40 per cent of children are being turned down by their preferred school.
The Telegraph surveyed 150 councils in England with responsibility for education. Of 110 that responded, 27 said that some schools in their area were using lotteries to assign places, while 21 said some were using fair banding.
Full story: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/educatio...hool-lotteries-hitting-the-middle-class.html#
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