A mother is seeking the views of parents about the borough’s school catchment boundaries.

Mother-of-one Lis Maimaris has launched a Facebook page to get people talking openly and informally about how they feel about school places in Barnet.

She launched the page after finding out the borough’s school priority zones may mean her daughter, now two, would not be eligible for a place at her nearest school.

She said: “At the moment the priority zones around primary schools can exclude children living just a few metres away as they are not designed 'as the crow flies' with the school in the centre of a circle.

“Where I live, my child is outside the priority zone for Moss Hall Primary Schools, which is only 230m away and we are on the boundary for Manorside Primary School."

She added she feared her daughter would not be given a place at Manorside either, making her wonder which school her daughter would end up in, and which to pick for her first choice.

Mrs Maimaris, who is eight months pregnant with her second child, said: “Information for parents is not that clear and a lot of parents I've spoken to have ended up with school places about two miles away, when there is a perfectly good school on their doorstep.

“One parent I spoke to says there is no direct bus route to her child's school on the other side of the borough from where she lives, others say their children have to cross busy roads.”

Priority zones were originally created to allow residents access to a community school that meant children had to cross as few roads as possible.

However, these have not been updated for ten years, and in the meantime many schools in the borough have expanded or changed their intake.

The Finchley resident added she had raised the issue of school catchment areas with her local councillor, Anne Hutton, who had brought it before the education overview and scrutiny committee.

The committee has agreed on there being a need to review the catchment areas of Barnet schools, though any changes could take two years to implement.

She said: “I think the council is responding positively and responsibly to this issue.”

“I’m launching the Facebook page to get parents' feedback so they can have their views heard when the review happens.

“I'd love the outcome to be a fairer catchment system which enables more children to get into their nearest good schools.”

The Facebook group can be found at Barnet School Places – Parents' Forum