IT IS naive to expect that Oxfordshire County Council will be able to put every child into the school of their parents’ choice.

There are physically only so many places at each school and, rightly or wrongly, some are more in demand than others.

And you can in no way fault any parent for plumping for the best school because they are only trying to give their child the absolute best chance to succeed in life.

So something has to give. And that means children being sent to their second or third choice.

The concern, though, is the actual number of children who missed out this year.

Estimates put it at about 1,500 and that is a lot of children.

When you hear some Banbury children are going to be attending schools in Bicester then that indicates there is a significant problem the county must address.

It cannot be good for a child’s education to face a 30-mile round trip every day.

The system will never be perfect but our education authorities have to look at the current set-up and ensure that figure of 1,500 comes down.