Church hall pupils join school David Miliband rejected

Children forced to attend classes in a church hall because local schools were full have finally won permanent places — at a leading state primary rejected by David Miliband.

Primrose Hill School is rated "outstanding" by Ofsted and lies near the Foreign Secretary's house.

But it was overlooked by Mr Miliband — an atheist — and his wife Louise, who sent their adopted son to a Church of England primary almost two miles away.

Mrs Miliband apparently began attending the church attached to their new school two years before they won a place.

Courthope Education Centre was set up in All Hallows Church, Gospel Oak by Camden council to educate 25 children aged four and five who were not offered a school place in the borough.

The council has now arranged for Primrose Hill, which has 400 pupils, to be expanded with renovation and extra teachers, to take the children from the church hall from September.

Leila Roy said she was happy her four-year-old son Anton was being transferred to Primrose Hill.

"Most of us wouldn't have had as good a school as Primrose Hill if we had been able to get into a local one [last year]," she said.

Ms Roy, 28, said the Courthope centre provided an "amazing" education, with four adults to a reception class of 14 — but there was still a long-term problem of an educational "black hole" in Camden.