Half of state schools break new laws on admissions

SOARING numbers of secondary schools are breaking new admissions laws brought in to give parents a fairer chance of securing places for their children.

An inquiry into the scale of the breaches has found that half of schools were flouting the new statutory admissions code. Headteachers claim the rules are too bureaucratic to follow.

Sir Philip Hunter, the chief schools adjudicator for England, will today publish his annual report as parents face intense competition for places. One in three London families failed to secure their first-choice school this year.

Selection interviews and questions about parents' marital status and occupation have been banned to stop schools discriminating against poorer families. Children's Secretary Ed Balls warned earlier this year that dozens of faith schools were still flouting the rules.

Last year the adjudicators dealt with 105 separate objections but with two months remaining this year, the watchdog has already dealt with 227 complaints. Two-thirds of objections were upheld.