CHILDREN from Dulverton All Saints School are now eligible to receive free transport to Kingsmead School in Wiveliscombe.

Following a consultation period, Somerset County Council has come to the decision to allow children from the age of 11 to receive free home-to-school transport to Kingsmead School, rather than from the age of 13.

The free school transport service already provided for families in the Dulverton area to West Somerset College in Minehead, and to Dulverton Middle School – for those families in the area who live more than 3 miles from Dulverton – will continue, and is not changing.

Parents are entitled to free transport to their nearest school when it is more than 3 miles from their home.

Nearly 60 people responded to the consultation on the plans to increase the amount of free transport available to them from September 2015.

The response showed that most eligible parents would welcome the offer of free transport to Kingsmead from the age of 11.

Councillor Frances Nicholson, Cabinet member for Children’s Services, said: “I welcome a decision that supports parents to express their preferences for their children's educational path.”

The decision follows Kingsmead School’s recent decision to widen its oversubscription criteria at the council’s request, which means the school’s catchment now formally includes those children in the Dulverton area for whom Kingsmead is nearer than West Somerset College.

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