Outraged parents say they feel “voiceless” as their children are allocated places at secondary schools miles away from their homes.

Max McKeown is one of many across the county who has failed to secure a spot at his local school despite living just over a mile away.

The 11-year-old applied for a spot at the School of Science and Technology in Weavering, near Maidstone, but was instead offered a school almost 10 miles away.

The family moved to to the county town four years ago from Medway and attempted to secure Max a place at the nearest primary school but was told it was oversubscribed.

They decided to keep Max at his school in Strood but as he moved into secondary school dad Stephen McKeown was keen for him to attend one closer to home.

“I took the responsible decision to keep him in Medway, a situation I would have like to have avoided,” the 51-year-old added.

“Since we moved, he has got a lot of new friends locally so we wanted him to go to the nearest school with them.

“This would have allowed Max the opportunity to walk or cycle to school and reduce the financial impact on our family.

“We also wanted him to get some independence to go to school by himself. It is like he is on 24 hour guard, there is always someone with him taking him to and from school.

“I want him to grow up and be with his friends, not have to start again in a new area. This was the school he liked and it was the best one that suited his needs.”

Yet, when the offers were released in March, Max was allocated to The Holmesdale School, in Snodland.

Mr McKeown, of Birling Avenue, Bearsted, added: “This would be a weekly round trip of 182 miles.

“I anticipated this was a mistake so contacted the council and school who have informed me that there are too many children and not enough school places.

“I am a reasonable person and I know they cannot give you what is not there but this is a local issue.

“It just does not seem fair. We pay all this council tax and pay for services that we cannot even access.

“With the rise in bills, why should I be funding to get a bus and train when he could walk down the road.”

Stephen and partner Joanne Hardwood have appealed the decision and have been put on the school’s waiting list – however they do not think it will be successful.

“We feel voiceless, this is just not right,” the dad added.

‘We feel voiceless, this is just not right’

A spokesman for Kent County Council (KCC) explained that parents are advised to use all four preferences when applying for a school place but in Max’s case, only one was named.

They added: “Maidstone School of Science and Technology is a very popular choice and had more than 1,100 preferences this year and competition for places was high.

“The school used its oversubscription criteria and Max was ranked number 387 with a distance of 1.164 miles from home to school. The last child offered was ranked number 366 with a distance of 1.129 miles.

“As there were no other schools to consider from the application form, KCC had to allocate the next nearest school with a space, which was Holmesdale School. Nearer schools offered all of their places to children that named them as a preference.

Admissions arrangements are determined by the schools and checked by KCC to make sure they are legal.

Any school looking to change its admission arrangements is required to publish these during consultation and this is available to view on the school’s own webste, as well as the local authority website.

“Parents whose children are not offered one of their preferred schools are advised to accept the place offered, even if it is an allocation, so they have some provision for September,” the spokesman added.

“They initially then have the option to go on the waiting list and/or appeal to any school named that did not offer them a place.

“Parents can now approach any other school directly for a space they did not name originally.”

Parents who have appealed the decision will find out if they have been successful by June 15.