Sir Peter Lampl: Guardian letter on school admissions

Fiona Millar writes that the use of ballots in school admissions in Brighton has not necessarily made them fairer (School admissions: is a lottery a fairer system? 14 March). The system we favour is one where half the places in an inner catchment would go to those living nearest the school, using traditional distance criteria. The other half would be allocated by lottery. This would mean children living nearest a school didn’t lose out, while those living within travelling distance had a fair chance to get in. Lotteries are only a solution if they are used in conjunction with outreach work. This is so that low- and modest-income families know which schools they can apply to and where they are entitled to free transport.

Read the letter online here.