Secondary schools have announced extra places will be made available for dozens of children who were at risk of being sent more than an hour away from their homes.

Kent County Council (KCC) has confirmed 60 more places will be available to support families living across Sheppey, Sittingbourne and Faversham this September.

Several parents on the island were left raging at the start of this month when their children were offered school places nearly 30 miles away from their home.

Hollie Bridges’s son Robin, from Warden Bay, was hoping to go to school on the island or in Sittingbourne, but was instead offered a placement at The Abbey School in Faversham.

She said at the time: “My son was crying and confused. It’s really sad. If he doesn’t get a school close to us he won’t be going and then his life is ruined.”

But now, Kent County Council (KCC) has announced more secondary school places will be made available in Swale to ease the demand for spaces this September.

Leigh Academy Minster, the former Oasis Academy, was split into two new academies last year, which meant the overall admissions numbers of the new schools were also reduced.

This meant 56 families from Sheppey were allocated schools off the island as there were not enough places available.

The council is investing into Leigh Academy Minster and Swale Academy Trust, which runs The Sittingbourne School and Westlands School, to open up 60 more spaces for Year 7 pupils.

30 more places will be allocated to families at Leigh Academy Minster in accordance with its admissions policy.

KCC will start to contact families who may benefit from the additional places next week.

Cabinet member for education and skills Rory Love said: “Although this problem was not of our making, I am pleased that KCC has been able to work with Leigh Academy Minster to secure 30 more school places on the Isle of Sheppey.

“It gives me no pleasure to say I was right, but at least we have been able to resolve most of the problem both for now and for future years...”

“I should like to thank the Academy for their positive response towards resolving the problem that parents faced.

“I am also grateful to Swale Academies Trust for working with us positively towards creating further school places in Sittingbourne

“I warned the Department for Education last year that these two new academies on the island were likely to attract far more pupils than the previous failing school, and the admissions numbers should not have been reduced.”

“It gives me no pleasure to say I was right, but at least we have been able to resolve most of the problem both for now and for future years.”