School catchment areas serve a purpose

Although it may seem to some to be a good idea to give siblings priority over catchment area pupils (Courier last week), in practice this idea will create even more problems.

By The Newsroom

Published 24th Feb 2013, 08:35 BST

Catchment areas are designed so that children can go to their nearest school. How would you feel if you lived in the catchment area of a particular school and your eldest child was denied a place because it was full with siblings of children living some distance away?

You would then have to drive some distance to another school and there would be no guarantee that you would get your second child into this school, so you would end up driving to two schools.

The whole school places system would become chaotic and unworkable. If you chose to send your child to a school out of catchment you have to accept that you might not get subsequent children into this school, at least not immediately. - J Ward, Waller Close, Warwick.