Parents anger after Banbury children forced to attend secondary school in Bicester
05/03/2026
Concerns raised over safety as the county council won’t be providing transport
A number of Banbury parents have been told their children must attend a secondary school in Bicester from September, because places aren’t available in secondary schools locally.
And to make matters worse they will have to organise transport themselves as none will be provided.
Oxfordshire County Council released details of secondary allocations earlier this week. Banbury FM has been contacted by a number of parents who have been left distressed, and concerned for their child’s safety getting to school, after they given places at The Cooper School in Bicester. All the parents we have spoken to had listed schools in our area in their application preferences.
One parent, who lives around a mile from the North Oxfordshire Academy, selected that as their first preference school, followed by Warriner, BGN and Kineton. They were shocked to receive the notification that The Cooper School in Bicester had been allocated and that transport wasn’t being provided.
The parent said: “We have to look at what options exist to get her there? With just one car we can’t drive her there, get our other child to primary school and get ourselves to work. So how does she get to the Cooper School? The only option is public transport which we can’t realistically afford.
“And is that even safe? I have a feeling if I said to my daughter, ‘off you go, walk into town, get the train and go wandering around another town’, at 11 years old Social Services would have something to say to me about that. But obviously, as far as the School Admissions team are concerned, that’s nothing to do with them.”
Another child, who lives just five minutes from the North Oxfordshire Academy on the Hardwick estate, has also been allocated the Cooper School in Bicester – despite their older sibling already attending NOA.
A member of their family said: “I would rather her stay at home than having the emotional trauma that she has already started to show with the thought she might have to go to Bicester.
“To say I am not angry about it would be a lie.”
In Grimsbury a parent selected Chenderit as the first choice school for their son, based on the school’s key strengths aligning with the aspirations of their child. The follow-up options chosen were Warriner, BGN and the North Oxfordshire Academy.
The mother, who is a teacher herself, was astounded: “Nobody saw this coming…. I used every box and picked schools having been to open evenings to make an educated decision. I knew I wasn’t guaranteed my top choice or my second choice, but I thought I would at least get one of my four.
“I never in a million years thought that they would ship us off to Bicester. It’s just absolutely bonkers.”
The parent is not sure what to do next and fears for her son’s safety as no transport is being provided. She said: “I don’t think as a mother I could let my son go on the train or bus to somewhere that’s 20 miles away, which will take him probably 40 minutes – near an hour – to get to, with people he doesn’t know, removing him from his community. I don’t think I can do that.
“I can’t homeschool because I’m teaching other people’s children. I have no idea what to do. There’s no advice. There’s no guidance.”
Banbury FM raised the parents’ concerns with Oxfordshire County Council. A spokesperson said: “Nationally, local authorities are experiencing increasing pressure on secondary school places as larger year groups move through the education system. This trend has also had an impact on the availability of places offered by neighbouring local authorities. For families in Banbury, this particularly affects cross border placements in Warwickshire and West Northamptonshire.
“When planning for school places, we look at several factors, including the size of the year group at the point of transfer, planned housing growth, and the number of school places available. Using this approach, we are working closely with schools in Banbury to identify options for creating additional capacity where possible.
“Should further places become available, we will contact parents directly with updated offers where appropriate.
“In the meantime, parents have the right to lodge an appeal for any school they named on their application but were not offered.”
We also asked the Liberal Democrat run authority to comment on why transport wasn’t being provided for the children who were being expected to travel to Bicester.
The spokesperson told us: “In line with statutory guidance and Oxfordshire County Council’s home to school travel and transport policy, children are eligible for home to school travel assistance when they attend the nearest school to their home that could have offered them a place, had it been listed on their application.
“Parents are encouraged to name four schools on their application and, if they wish to be considered for travel assistance should include the four closest schools in distance order to ensure that all local options are considered.
“Where families have listed four of their nearest schools in distance order and are still allocated a place at a school further away because no local places are available, they will be eligible for travel assistance. In these situations, the family has demonstrated that they have taken all reasonable steps to secure a place at a local school.
“An appeal process is available for parents not happy with the school we allocate to them. They can also appeal a decision to refuse transport assistance, and can do so through our webpage.
“Parents should provide all information they wish to be considered.”
Published: by the Banbury FM News Team
Reader's opinions
