No place for a boy next door
Posted: 02 Nov 2006 @ 00:00
A FOUR-YEAR-OLD BOY has been refused a place at the Church of England
primary school next door to his house, and given a place at a school two miles
away.
The boy, Liam Mowl, was not given a place at St Michael’s School in
Tenterden, Kent, even though his parents had put it down as the first choice
for their son.
But Kent County Council explained this week that the parents had not
specified a religious education for Liam “when prompted on the application
form”.
The selection criteria are such that parents who had chosen a religious
education were given higher priority, a council spokeswoman said. For next
September entry at St Michael’s, there were 99 applications for 33 places, she
said on Wednesday.
In an interview on the BBC website, Martin Mowl, Liam’s father, explained
that the family had applied for the place soon after Liam was born, as they
knew the school was oversubscribed.
But he said that he could not remember if the application form had asked if
they wanted a religious education for their son. They lived so close to the
school that they could “literally go to the top of their garden, lean over the
fence, and touch the school building”.
A statement from Kent County Council added: “St Michael’s is a Church of
England Primary School, and parents who choose a religious education for their
child must be given a priority. The Mowl family have been advised on their
right to appeal this decision.”