A school has changed its admissions policy and added an extra class to its starting numbers after parents who live close by vented their fury after learning their children could be refused a place.

People living in Ebbsfleet Garden City signed a petition demanding the admissions policy for the forthcoming Alkerden Church of England Academy be reviewed after it was revealed that if it was oversubscribed, pupils from other schools within the Alethia Academies Trust would have more chance of getting in than those who live nearby.

Parents said they were “sold a dream” and demanded the admissions policy be reviewed after they discovered they were sixth on the priority list.

Dad Chris Smith has a son in Year 6 and said he bought his house 10 years ago on the promise a school was being built which his son could attend.

He said: “We were sold a dream and we just haven’t got it. When we bought the property we stood on the observation deck and were shown a plot of land and told ‘this is where your children will go to school’.

“Not prioritising those living close by for a place in the local school is not reflecting the ethos of Ebbsfleet Garden City, which was to create this area where there was lots of green space around us and our children could cycle or scoot to school.”

He added: “We were hoping our son could have some independence and ride his bike to school, but now it’s likely we will have to leave the estate and drive him [somewhere else] while people from Trust schools outside the area will be driving into the estate.”

Alkerden C of E Academy school is a new secondary school being built in Ebbsfleet Garden City. It is due to open next September with four forms joining Year 7.

Its building and planned intake had already been delayed with residents being told it was “to avoid the situation of overprovision resulting in disproportionate allocation of spaces to children, and thus siblings, from outside the Ebbsfleet catchment area”.

However, the Alethia Academies Trust's oversubscription admission criteria still placed local residents as sixth on the list of those prioritised, after pupils attending the academy's 12 other primary schools including some as far as Cliffe and Sevenoaks.

As a result, some of the parents got together to lobby for change.

Parent Rayann Aldouri said: “Given the planned number of houses in Ebbsfleet Garden City this goes against the ethos of building a local school for local children and is likely to exclude the diverse community that Ebbsfleet Garden City has come to represent.

“It also very clearly is not in line with what was stated as the reason for delay in opening the school.

“As local residents, we ask that Kent County Council reviews the admissions criteria and its impact on the local population with a well publicised consultation with regards to the repercussions such a policy will have on opportunities for local children as well as the impact on traffic and pollution.”

And parents said the situation is only going to get worse as the sibling link criteria comes into play in subsequent years.

Mum Emma Wise, whose son is in Year 4, said they saw exactly the same thing happen when Cherry Orchard Primary School was opened on the development almost 10 years ago.

She said: “Children from outside the development were allowed to come as there was space. Then their siblings were given priority and it ended up that there was no space for children living near by.

“We can see exactly the same thing is going to happen here. You would think they would have learnt their lesson.”

She added: “We have been really let down as a community. The fact that we are not going to be able to get into the community school that is being built is so frustrating.”

Councillor Danny Nicklen (Con), who represents Ebbsfleet on Dartford council, is backing the residents.

He said: “I support their frustrations. They are not confident they are going to have a fair crack of the whip for the first intake and feel it’s only going to get harder.

“The Trust should not be prioritising people from afar.”

Another parent, who did not want to be named, added: “They need to reevaluate the admissions criteria for this year. Maybe they could consider just reserving a proportion of spaces for pupils from other Trust schools like Leigh Academies Trust does.”

‘We have been really let down as a community’

Cllr Nicklen said the situation was only going to get worse as the development continued to grow and more young families moved in.

He said: “This type of garden city attracts young families.”

To sign the petition click the link here.

Cllr Victoria Akintomide-Akinwamide (Lab), who also represents Ebbsfleet on Dartford council, added her support.

She said: “It is quite shocking and concerning that Aletheia Trust admission policy for Alkerden C of E Academy is contrary to the joint statement of stakeholders KCC, EDC [Ebbsfleet Development Corporation], Aletheia Trust and [housebuilders] Henley Camland, regarding the previous delays to building and starting the school.

“I was told that ‘once the school opens our priority is to ensure, students from Whitecliffe and Ebbsfleet Green can secure places’.

“It is imperative that the Trust revises its admission policy for Alkerden C of E Academy.”

However, the education trust revealed yesterday it was now increasing its intake.

Aletheia Trust chief executive Steve Carey said: “We are working really hard to see what we can do to revise the admissions criteria in order to provide greater access to the full community.

“We have just secured agreement to increase the initial admission numbers from 120 to 150.

“Once the revised policy has been agreed it will be shared with the community.”