FAMILIES on the English side of the Wye will find it more difficult to get their children into a popular school after councillors agreed to reduce the places available.

The decision by Monmouthshire County Council’s Cabinet to reduce the number of places at Monmouth Comprehensive School from September 2017 was agreed, despite the fact that children have been turned away in recent years.

Many parents from the Forest and south Herefordshire, have chosen Monmouth over their ‘local’ secondary school in recent years.

The Cabinet agreed to reduce the school’s capacity from 1,671 pupils to 1,600 as well as giving the go-ahead to a 55-place facility for children with additional learning needs (ALN) at the town’s new school which is currently under construction.

Council officials say they need to tackle the number of ‘surplus places’ across the county and Monmouth is taking pupils who live in the catchment areas of schools in Chepstow and Abergavenny.

Among the questions put during a public consultation was: “There have been rumours that pupils from the Forest of Dean will not get in because they are over the border.”

The reply was: “It may be that young people who are out of catchment will be unable to attend the school if it is full.

“This will be managed through the oversubscription criteria.”

Admission criteria set out the order in which places are allocated, with children who are or have been in council care first, then those with exceptional medical circumstances, those with brothers or sisters already at the school and then children in the catchment area.

If there are still not enough places, those living closest to the school will be given preference.

The catchment area extends down the Wye Valley to between Tintern and Llandogo but does not include any of the towns or villages on the English side of the river.

Asked about why there can’t be a larger capacity, the council said it had to look at the “bigger picture” on reducing surplus places.

Some 17 per cent of places are empty across Monmouthshire’s four secondary schools.

A report to the Cabinet stated: “Whilst Monmouth Comprehensive was oversubscribed last year there is adequate provision for all catchment area pupils, including any pupils generated from future housing developments going forward.

“The local authority is aware that Monmouth is a popular school but remains mindful of the effect on other secondary schools in the county and whilst there is scope for out-of-catchment pupils to be admitted to the school, the new school cannot be built larger than necessary to serve the pupils within its catchment area.”