MORE than half the children in Tilbury and Chadwell St Mary did not get a place at their local secondary school this year.

The Gazette put in a freedom of information request to Thurrock Council to find out the number of year 6 pupils battling for places in each of the borough’s secondary schools.

It revealed that Tilbury and Chadwell St Mary have 331 children starting secondary school in September, but the Gateway Academy in Tilbury, the only secondary school in the area, offers just 180 places.

This year it took 166 pupils with postcodes in Tilbury and Chadwell St Mary.

Conservative MP for Thurrock, Jackie Doyle Price, is now calling for the Gateway Academy to take more pupils, and says there is even a case for a new secondary school to be built.

She said: “We think that schools should be allowed to expand where parents and the school wish to see this happen. This is why we are this week taking forward the Academies legislation to enable more schools to go down the academy route.

“There are insufficient places to enable parents living in Tilbury and Chadwell to choose to send their children to a local school. I think it is incumbent on Gateway Academy to consider whether they can offer more provision.

“There is a substantial additional need which may need to be addressed though a new school. “ Gateway was set up in September 2003 after the failing schools Torells, in Grays, and St Chad’s in Tilbury were shut down.

At that time Torells had 150 places for year sevens while St Chad’s offered 195, their total capacity combined allowed for 1687 students.

The Gateway Academy had a total of 875 students on its roll in 2009.

In addition to the 166 pupils with RM16 and RM18 postcodes, the Gateway took nine pupils outside of this area that have siblings at the school, four pupils on the basis of their aptitude, and one pupil on medical grounds, this year.

A spokesman for the academy said: “The Governing Body has established a policy which details very strict criteria for admissions and gives priority to siblings and those living closest to the academy.

“Applications for admission in Year 7 must be sent to the Local Authority by the published deadline.

“It is the responsibility of the Local Authority to apply the Academy’s policy and to fully administer the process.

“It is important to note that the Academy does not play any part in this process and has no power to veto or select individual students.”

She added: “ The Academy was designed as an 11-18 school with the capacity for six forms of entry to each year group. This means that each year the Academy is able to admit no more than 180 pupils to Year 7.”

Number of pupils in each ward starting secondary school in September:

Aveley and Uplands - 85

Belhus - 120

Chadwell St Mary- 124

Chafford and North Stifford- 104

Corringham and Fobbing- 66

East Tilbury- 85

Grays Riverside- 103

Grays Thurrock- 129

Little Thurrock Blackshots -75

Little Thurrock Rectory- 60

Ockendon - 97

Orsett- 60

South Chafford- 101

Stanford East and Corringham Town - 107

Stanford-le-Hope West - 67

Stifford Clays - 90

The Homesteads - 98

Tilbury Riverside - 101

Tilbury St. Chads- 106

West Thurrock -126

Schools intake of year sevens:

Chafford Hundred Campus, Chafford Hundred - 180

Grays Convent, Grays -124

The Grays School, Grays - 171

William Edwards, Grays -242

Gable Hall, Corringham - 243

Hassenbrook, Stanford-le-Hope- 146

St Cleres, Stanford-le-Hope- 192

Ormiston Park, Aveley - 91

The Ockendon School, South Ockendon- 181