Parents face a postcode lottery over how schools calculate the distance to children’s homes, leaving a potential loophole for legal challenges.
About 62,000 children are thought to have missed out on their first choice primary school this week, some by a matter of metres. About one in ten across England did not get into their preferred school, with as many as four in ten left disappointed in parts of London, where catchment areas can shrink to just a couple of streets.
Experts said the government should create national rules covering the calculation of distance between homes and schools, because of discrepancies.
Some schools measure from the school gates, others from the school office, or the centre of the school grounds. Most calculate as the crow