PARENTS of Watford primary school children will be asked for their views on a proposed new secondary transfer system in the biggest-ever consultation exercise of its kind.

More than 70,000 parents throughout Hertfordshire will be sent a consultation document on secondary school admission rules by the end of next week.

And an unprecedented set of meetings across the county have been organised for parents to have their questions answered.

The move is a direct response to the admissions crisis in south west Hertfordshire last year, which, at its peak, saw at least 150 children without a place at the secondary school of their choice.

The proposed rules will still give priority, when a secondary school has more applications than places available, to children with brothers and sisters already at the school.

Another rule gives places to children who would have to travel farthest to get to the next nearest school with places (known as the longest extra journey rule).

Up to ten per cent of places would also go to those who live nearest the school.

However, Hertfordshire County Council was keen to stress the admission rules would only affect Watford's Westfield and Francis Combe Schools.

Furthermore, the system wouldn't be changed in time for the September 1998 intake.

Hertfordshire's head of student services Mr Bart Taylor said: "It became quite clear last summer that we had real difficulties in south west Hertfordshire and that parents were very unhappy with the way things were decided.

"We want people to be thinking about the future. The Watford meeting is very important, but parents must understand the proposed admission rule changes are for local authority schools.

"We will also be talking about a more co-ordinated admissions system in the county in general terms."

Creating a more co-ordinated transfer system is another aspect of the council's questionnaire.

If Hertfordshire can't agree with Watford's ten opted-out schools over creating such a system via a single application form, education minister David Blunkett will be brought into the negotiations.

This would see parents only needing to fill in one application form, and for all parents to hear what place they have been offered on the same day.

Members further agreed the director of education should ask all grant maintained schools in the county to consider the advantages to be gained by amending their admission rules in the light of the parental survey.

After agreeing the proposed consultation on Wednesday last week, chairman of the education committee Councillor Bob Mays said the council was determined to introduce clearer, fairer and better rules for the future.

Vice-chairman Councillor Ivor Ambrose said: "We had hoped to go further in making sure that every child was guaranteed a place in at least one of their local schools.

"But we were advised that this would leave us open to legal challenges. With that in mind, we have done all we can to come up with the best possible system."

News of the consultation came in the same week the BBC chose to focus on south west Hertfordshire's potential admissions crisis.

The situation was the subject of First Sight, a weekly current affairs programme, and featured the headteacher of Watford Grammar School for Boys, Mr John Holman, and Ms Jan Spavin, who is the headteacher of Westfield School.

(The parents information meeting takes place at Westfield School, Tolpits Lane, Watford, on Monday, February 9, at 7.30pm).

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