This is already beginning and our son's only in Year 5. It seems to be the main topic of conversation in the playground.

I live in Brighton where they are trialling the lottery system so even catchment areas are no longer valid.

I agree wholeheartedly with you. Build more schools.

I agree! We moved home so we would be in the right catchement area for the better primary school and I have joked that when the time comes for Secondary school we may move again! Every child deserves a chance and the current system is failing for them.

I agree with you - building decent schools for all of our children is the answer. Here in Northern Ireland we have been under the sway of the 11 plus system for years hence non grammar schools all have differing entrance policies but right through final two years in primary school all that can be talked about is the transfer process and your child being doomed iif they don't get an A at tramsfer test!! If you happen to have dyslexic children (like myself) where the transfer process makes no allowance for dyslexia you tend to go where you are told. In our case my daughter was sent to a new integrated school some 15 miles away - however this has in fact proved very successful for her as she is very bright and she is given the right support and encouragement. The shame is that this cannot be said for all schools and whilst I disagree with parents playing the system because financially they are able to, I understand that this current lottery of whether your child goes to a decent school is wrong - all of our children deserve a decent education in a well run school - not just those who can afford it as wealth does not necessarily equate to intelligence anymore than the 11 + or SAT's!

I am starting to experience this and E is not due to start reception in Sep 11!
This is madness!

As Peggy points out, the issues are evident even at as young an age as 4. When trying to get our son into primary school, we were too far away at less than 600m from the school to get in to its two reception classes. The closest place we could get him in to was 1.8km away.
I dread to think what it'll be like by the time we're looking at secondary schools.

http://glowstars.net

Choice at primary is an illusion, let alone secondary. We have a school 1/3 of a mile away and when I phoned for the forms they told me I wasn't in the catchment because we lived too far away. Next school which is 1/2 a mile away is totally over subscribed 5 reception classes of 31-32 kids, now mostly in huts who said we could go on the waiting list but wouldn't guarantee anything. Went to the third and last state school in town 2 miles away totally out of their area and refused. In the end gave up phoned the local private school had a place in a week, thankgod I only have one child or I don't know what I'd have done.

My son is in his first year at Primary school, my daughter's not due to start for another couple of years and yet already I am having panic attacks about where they will be for secondary school. At the moment it is definitely a case of burying our heads in the sand - we don't want to move because we love the primary school, we could never afford private education and yet our local secondary school is oversubscribed, underfunded and simply unacceptable for our children's education.

They can't build more schools. There simply isn't enough space in the country anymore unless schools were to be built in the middle of the countryside.

The only places to build them would be in green spaces. And that would lead to more build-up and urbanisation, sooner or later there would be no greenery left anymore.

That, and there is no money left to give to education.