Pate's saw admissions from local primary schools fall

Sir Peter Lampl says a new system in England this year has deterred many families from applying to top schools.

He says parents are not prepared to gamble on getting a place in case they fail and are left with a poor school.

At a grammar school in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, fewer children applied from local primary schools this year.

And the school has seen the number of children being admitted from the private sector double.

Under the new system, parents have to rank their preferred schools in order.

In some areas, popular schools are saying they will give priority when allocating places to families who have put them first.

This means that if you put a grammar school first but did not pass the selection test, you might have little chance of getting your other preferences if they are also over-subscribed.

They would have filled their places with children who had put them as first choice.

In other areas, schools operate what is known as a "blind admissions system", where they apply their admissions criteria regardless of where a family ranked them.

There, it appears people might have felt more willing to gamble on getting a place at a top school.

In Birmingham, for example, a spokeswoman for the city council said parents had often put "unrealistic" first preferences, knowing their child would get into one of the others.

'Opposite effect'

Sir Peter Lampl, the chairman of the Sutton Trust educational charity, advises the government on issues related to social class and education.

His charity had set up a scheme to encourage more children from poorer families to apply to Pate's Grammar School in Cheltenham.

But the changes in the admissions system had led to fewer children from such backgrounds applying in 2005, he said.

Writing in the Sutton Trust's annual report, he said the new admissions system was to blame.

"If a child does not win a place at Pate's they risk being allocated to one of the most poorly performing schools in the area," he said.

Sir Peter believes many families are deciding to play safe and name a good local comprehensive as their first choice instead of applying to Pate's.

"A system intended to simplify school admissions and improve choice actually has the opposite effect, further benefiting those who can afford to pay for their children's education."

Chris Beal, assistant head teacher at the school confirmed Sir Peter's findings.

"The parents with a real choice are those who can afford to gamble because they can afford independent schooling if their child does not get in here."

He said this year the number of children arriving at the school from the private sector had "at least doubled".

"The number of entrants from local primary schools has decreased in an alarming manner," he said.

"We have spent a lot of time and money trying to make ourselves accessible."