1 in 4 Local Children Denied The Secondary School of Their Choice
In the Secondary School Allocation reports released by HCC Admissions Team this week, over 630 children across the county failed to be offered a place in one of their preferred schools. The situation in South West Herts, covering Bushey, Three Rivers and Watford is particularly shocking with 222 children, or almost one child in every four, being placed in a school they did not want to attend. Through no fault of their own, these children will suffer the hardship of being separated from their school friends, and having to travel much further than they planned to a school that wasn't in their top 4 preferences
Liberal Democrat Spokesperson Mark Watkin (Nascot Park) commented "We have been seeing the massive increase in demand for Primary School places over the last few years, and here is the start of the secondary bulge. The pressure for additional capacity in South West Herts is near breaking point. There are a lot of unhappy families who have received the worst possible news. The sooner additional capacity is provided in the very areas where schools were closed twenty years ago, the better."