A new parents’ pressure group is demanding urgent action to improve secondary school access in the Three Rivers district.

The WD3 Parents Action Group, angered at the number of local children missing out on places at their preferred secondary school, is demanding an urgent review of admissions policy and the building of a new secondary school in the next five years.

Its members are fighting a “deeply worrying” trend in the Rickmansworth, Chorleywood, Croxley Green, Mill End, and Maple Cross areas, where some 28 per cent of children leaving primary school were not allocated any of their first three Secondary School preferences last year – a situation that is only likely to get worse.

Hertfordshire County Council, which has a legal obligation to educate children, admitted the problems in its recent report “Meeting the Rising Demand for School Places" which forecast that by 2014/15 an additional 259 places would be needed in the local area.

Group chairman Mark Sutton and vice chairman Carolyn Venn say they face two main problems: the disproportionate number of local selective schools; and increased competition for places from out-of-county pupils (who are allowed six preferred choices compared with Hertfordshire’s three).

Mr Sutton said: “Our children are at a terrible disadvantage Year after year, more and more children from across the area are being forced to travel huge distances to school and are only being offered spaces in the county’s worst performing schools. The educational future of our children is very bleak and this situation is untenable.”

Mrs Venn said the group was non political and not interested in criticising good locally selective schools.

The mum-of-two said: “All we want is good local school places for our children. We’ve got to rise above Liberal Democrats at Three Rivers District Council arguing with Conservatives at the county council and work to get a new school built.

“This is deeply worrying to parents. We need to find a site and start the process as soon as possible. If everybody works together in his we could have new school by 2015.”

County Councillor Richard Thake, executive member for education, said he warmly welcomed the group. Formal proceedings to build a new school, including funding, consultation and planning, he added, were likely to be approved at the full council meeting on February 23.

He told the Watford Observer: “We have come to the conclusion that the only solution for the WD3 area is a new school. We’ve tweaked and tweaked admissions but no changes will have the impact needed in this area.”

He added, however, that any completed school project would probably not be open before 2015.

The WD3 Parents’ Action Group will be holding a public meeting at St Peter’s School Hall, Mill End, at 8pm on Wednesday, February 10.