State school 'broke rules by barring children from local estates'

Drayton Manor High School in Hanwell has been ordered to change its access policy, days before the deadline for applications from families.

The popular secondary which the Government has highlighted as an example of educational excellence "indirectly discriminated" against children from deprived estates nearby, the Schools Adjudicator found. Drayton Manor has now launched a High Court challenge to try to overturn the ruling.

The case was brought under new powers that allow councils to report a school for breaking admissions laws. The powers are an attempt to stop affluent parents dominating the best secondaries by moving house to their catchment area.

The row centres on one aspect of Drayton Manor's admissions policy for allocating places when it is oversubscribed.

It gave priority to children for whom the school was their nearest secondary in Ealing. As a result, it was accused of turning away dozens of applications from families who live less than a mile away, on the grounds that they had other schools such as Brentside High even closer to their homes.

Most of the affected children came from the deprived Cuckoo, Copley Close and High Lane estates.

Ealing council and Brentside High School complained to the adjudicator that these arrangements could lead to "social segregation" and disadvantage children from particular social or racial backgrounds. Schools Adjudicator Andrew Baxter upheld the objection, saying: "The disputed aspect of the school's admissions arrangements fails to comply with the code.

"The criterion does not actively promote equity and indirectly discriminates against economically less advantaged families unable to afford housing in the areas benefiting from [Drayton Manor's admissions rule]."

He ordered the school to change its policy and dismissed its claim that it was too late to do so. Parents must submit applications for September 2009 places by this Friday.

Drayton Manor is seeking a judicial review. A spokesman said: "The school has commenced an urgent challenge to the adjudicator's decision in the High Court. In the circumstances, it would be inappropriate to comment further."

Drayton Manor's head Sir Pritpal Singh was knighted in 2005 after turning the school around. Ironically, it was the setting where, in 2006, Ruth Kelly, who was education secretary, launched the Education and Inspections Bill, which contained the admissions code the school has now been condemned for breaching.