A mother has vowed to send her daughter to a Pitsea school in September - even though she has been refused a place.

A confusion in the application stage has seen 11-year-old Stacey Evans miss the chance to move onto Chalvedon School, in Wickford Avenue, with her pals.

But school bosses have said the school is bursting at the seams anyway and a strict admissions rule has been adopted.

Mum Leigh-Ann Evans, of Scaldhurst, Pitsea, is convinced her daughter's education will suffer if she is forced to go to a school she does not like without her friends.

Mrs Evans said: "I was one of the first parents to send off the application form to get my daughter into that school.

"I mistakenly sent the form to Essex County Council when apparently I should have sent it directly to the school.

"The deputy headteacher of Chalvedon went along to my daughter's school to let them know which youngsters had been accepted.

"Stacey came home in tears saying she had missed out."

Young Stacey has refused to even give other schools a try - and has bought herself a Chalvedon School tie and badge.

Mrs Evans has vowed to take her daughter along to Chalvedon School when the new term starts in September.

Felmores headteacher Mike Stellings is behind the family in their struggle.

He said: "I have every sympathy for Stacey.

"It must be an awful shock to be told she cannot go to school with her friends. It has been a difficult year with Fryerns School closing."

Mrs Evans added: "I have been told Chalvedon only takes on 330 pupils a year and those spaces have been filled with a waiting list of 35.

"Stacey is at the bottom of that list.

"Children from Chelmsford have got places before my daughter.

"I honestly believe Stacey's school work will suffer if she cannot be with her friends at this school.

"I think Chalvedon can offer her the best education."

Chalvedon headteacher Alan Roach said he had heard a lot of parents were intending to take their children to the school without a guarantee of a place.

He said: "We are very oversubscribed and this is the downside of being a popular school.

"We have increased the number of intake to cope with the closure of Fryerns School, but there are still not enough.

"Each year we take 240 pupils, this year that has gone up to 330.

"I can sympathise with those struggling to get places.

"People who have priority are those with brothers and sisters already at the school, those with medical reasons to come here and those living close by.

"What more can we do?

"All we can do is follow the criteria set out by the secretary of state.

"There are plenty of other schools within a walk of this which still have places.

"I can only suggest these children enrol at another school and stay on our waiting list. That way they are at least guaranteed an education."

School row - Stacey Evans

Picture: ANDY PALMER

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