Top schools pressed to pick pupils by lottery

Figures out today show the Office of the Schools Adjudicator, which polices admissions, dealt with nine cases in London last year, and upheld seven complaints either fully or partially.

Now, London's most sought-after state schools are coming under pressure to allocate places by methods such as lotteries, which are favoured by ministers but "totally opposed" by the Tories.

One of the most complex cases involved complaints over Lady Margaret School in Parson's Green. The girls secondary received 578 applications for 90 places last year. The first 50 places are reserved for practising Anglicans from certain postcodes, but a lottery is now used to fill remaining spaces, after siblings, children in care and those with special needs are taken into account.

The Government's new admissions code bans schools from interviewing parents and asking them whether they support the school's ethos. Ministers suspect this can be used as a way of filtering out potential problem families.

But some heads believe banning interviews will make it even more difficult for working-class parents, arguing that the professional middle classes are less daunted by lengthy application forms.

Adjudicator Elizabeth Passmore told Lady Margaret to delete questions about parental involvement in church life.

One education expert warned lotteries would never be popular. Professor Alan Smithers, of Buckingham University, said: "Parents naturally want a part in deciding the schools their children go to."