Council to award school places by lottery

LONDON, Feb 28 (Reuters) A council in England has decided to allocate secondary school places by lottery to give children a better chance of getting into the most popular establishments, the BBC reported.

The Labour-controlled Brighton and Hove City Council will change its schools' admissions procedure from September 2008 so that priority will no longer be given to those who live closest places but by lottery.

''Brighton and Hove is a city of haves and have-nots, and the have-nots have been left out,'' Councillor Pat Hawkes, chairwoman of the families and schools committee, told the BBC.

The move, which comes after a public meetings and a petition signed by nearly 4,000 people, aims to give children from poorer areas a better chance of getting into the most popular schools.

However it is opposed by some parents who are hoping to have the decision overturned in court, the BBC said.

The system will mean the city will be divided into six catchment areas, and children will be expected to go to a school in their local area. Where there is competition for places, the admissions will be decided by a lottery.

The Brighton move comes as the Daily Telegraph reports that 200,000 children may miss out on their first choice secondary school.

It said about a third of all applicants in some parts of the country will fail to get their preferred choice.

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