London leads the way for lotteries on school places

Writing for the Standard Anna Davis reports how the Sutton Trust is calling for more schools to introduce ballots for school places.

More schools in London have introduced lottery-style admissions systems than in the whole of the rest of the country, research reveals today.

The reforms aim to prevent wealthy parents from buying their way into good state schools.

In the capital, 89 secondary schools have scrapped traditional catchment areas to stop popular schools being dominated by families who can afford to buy a house nearby.

In the rest of England, 60 schools use the lottery-style systems.

The research is published by the Sutton Trust today, shortly before tens of thousands of London children find out which secondary school they have been allocated to.

Research suggests being in the catchment area of the most popular schools can add as much as £31,500 to house prices.

The Sutton Trust is calling for more schools to bring in lotteries, where applicants’ names are drawn from a ballot.

Read the article here.