An Orpington mum-of-two is spending £2,000 a month taking her son to a West Malling school after he missed out on his four local primary choices.

Louise Beard, of Felstead Road, drives her son Archie, four, to a school in Kings Hill around 25 miles away as he was not allocated a primary place from her preferred list.

She has enrolled her one-year-old daughter Poppy into a nursery nearby and leaves the house at 7am each weekday morning to drop the children off at a breakfast club in West Malling.

Mrs Beard parks her car at West Malling Station before catching a train to Bromley South where she works as an account manager for an immigration consultancy.

After work, she catches the train back to West Malling, picks the kids up from a childminder and drives them home for around 7pm.

The 26-year-old told News Shopper: "It’s awful at the moment. We are under a lot of stress.

"The kids are always sleeping in the car on the way.

"Archie is just exhausted."

News Shopper:

She said it costs her around £2,000 a month in petrol, train tickets, parking, childminder, breakfast club and nursery fees.

After six months of their gruelling morning routine, Mrs Beard and her husband Byron, 30, a recruitment manager, have decided to sell their home to move closer to the school.

Of the 4,058 Bromley borough children who applied for a school reception place for September 2014, 77 per cent were handed their first choice.

In November 2013, Mrs Beard submitted Archie’s application for three primary schools in the catchment area of their former home in Green Street Green and one outside of it.

Before a place was confirmed, the family bought a new home in Felstead Road and moved to stay with Mrs Beard's mum temporarily in Crofton while it was renovated.

She said she informed the council of the move and asked to add additional school choices but was told she could not.

In April last year, Archie was offered a place at Blenheim Primary School, which at the time of applying had a ‘requires improvement’ Ofsted rating. The family appealed the decision but it was refused.

Mrs Beard added: "To be offered a failing school for our son was not an option.

"We are having to move away from all our family and friends."

News Shopper:

A Bromley Council spokeswoman said: “Bromley Council is responsible for ensuring that children applying for a Bromley school are offered a school place.

“In common with the rest of London we have had exceptionally high demand for reception places and have worked hard to provide all parents who applied on time with an optimal school place.

“The high demand means that proximity to school criteria may have a small radius, particularly in a year with large numbers of siblings.

“The pan-London admissions scheme distributes places in a scrupulously fair and transparent way based on the eligibility criteria including the applicant’s permanent address and the number of places available at each school.”

“Many schools are over-subscribed and cannot offer to all who apply, and only reach limited distances under the proximity criteria.”

She added the council had continued to advise parents to make realistic choices on their application forms including schools that easily cover their home address.

MORE TOP STORIES: