THERE remains a “black hole” in Poole where parents have little or no chance of getting children into their chosen school, it is claimed.

Cllr Phil Eades, said it was an ever-growing problem that Borough of Poole had “dismally failed” to react to, since before the Daily Echo highlighted it in 2009.

Children living in the South Western Crescent area of Lower Parkstone were missing out on places at the two nearest schools and some were having to go to Old Town First and others.

School placement statistics for September 2011 showed there were 165 applications from in-catchment children for Courthill First School, which offered only 90 places.

However the council had spent considerable sums providing additional places at Sylvan First School, which had only 50 in-catchment children for 150 places.

Only 91 places were offered to parents who placed Sylvan anywhere on their preferences, 54 children were offered places who did not put the school in their top three, but gained none of their preferences.

“Lower Parkstone has become in effect an area that has no catchment school,” said Cllr Eades.

“The geographic line is being ever tightened around Courthill, meaning that even children living as close as Penn Hill Avenue cannot attend the school.

“There are whole swathes of Lower Parkstone whose residents have little or no chance of attending their catchment school.

“This is resulting in upset parents, unnecessary journeys and families having children at different schools and moving houses against their wishes.

“The council must take action to solve this ever-increasing problem and give the parents of Lower Parkstone a fair crack of the whip in obtaining school places.”

Cllr Janet Walton, cabinet member for children’s services at the Borough of Poole, said the council had added 150 places to reception classes for September 2011 to meet demand across the town.

Courthill has little space available and an independent review by the Office of the Schools Adjudicator upheld the decision not to increase admission numbers in September 2012, she said.

“Members have asked that officers carry out a consultation on adding an additional 30 school places at Courthill First School in September 2013,” she said.

“Courthill continues to have an identified catchment area. However, the admissions process does not guarantee a child will be allocated a place at their catchment school.”