A COUPLE who work full-time and live in a village have been given a school for their son which is three miles away from their home. Keith and Niki Dunn live in Maplefield, Park Street, but their four-year-old son Cameron has been given a place at Mandevil

A COUPLE who work full-time and live in a village have been given a school for their son which is three miles away from their home.

Keith and Niki Dunn live in Maplefield, Park Street, but their four-year-old son Cameron has been given a place at Mandeville JMI in St Albans.

The school is nearly three miles away across a busy roundabout and neither his parents or their child minder are able to take Cameron there or pick him up.

Mr Dunn said: "We don't know how we are going to manage. I work in Slough and my wife works in Welwyn Garden City. We have a very good childminder who presently picks Cameron up from his nursery school in Park Street but she has made it clear she is not prepared to travel 20 minutes in a car each way to collect or deliver Cameron from Mandeville."

The Dunns had originally applied for Park Street Primary School as Cameron attended the nursery class there as well as How Wood and Killigrew Schools. But 19 of the children in Cameron's class had siblings currently at the school and it was over-subscribed.

After they had been offered the place at Mandeville School the Dunns put Cameron down for continuing interest in their closest schools - How Wood, Mount Pleasant and Killigrew - but so far without success.

A spokesperson for Herts County Council said: "The situation is fluid with ongoing continuing interest lists but even if the Dunns don't manage to get the school of their choice, they can always appeal citing their special circumstances."

n An angry parent whose daughter missed out on a place at one of her three nearest schools is appealing for others in the same situation to join forces with her.

Mary Croft's daughter was one of 80 children living in St Albans city centre who were denied a place at one of their three preferred schools.

She now wants to talk to other parents in central St Albans who are facing the same problem in the hope of starting some form of campaign to place pressure on the county council to create more places in city-centre schools. She can be contacted on 01727 800198.