Ballots urged to decide places at all over-subscribed schools

A study carried out for the Sutton Trust recommended that this would be the fairest way to allocate places and give poorer pupils a better chance.

This year it was estimated that 100,000 primary pupils would miss out on their first choice secondary school. In Yorkshire almost 5,000 have missed out on their main choice.

A number of schools across the country are already using random draws to decide which students are offered a place.

The research said that after factors such as home address, faith and siblings had been taken into account, names could be drawn at random to give everyone the same chance.

The chairman of the Sutton Trust, Sir Peter Lampl, wrote in the foreword: "Deployed alongside other selection criteria, ballots are the fairest way of deciding school places in over-subscribed schools. There has to be some way of choosing which pupils are admitted, and ballots offer the same chances to all children irrespective of their background."

The report also found that grammar schools took more pupils from deprived backgrounds than leading comprehensives.

It examined Government data on children whose families live on benefits to discover where they went to school.

The country's top 164 comprehensive schools took 9.2 per cent of pupils from poorer backgrounds, although they were based in areas where a fifth of children were from deprived homes.

This compared with 164 grammar schools which drew their students from similar areas but allowed in 13.5 per cent from less affluent families.

The report was written by Alan Smithers and Pamela Robinson from the Centre for Education and Employment Research at the University of Buckingham.

Of the 100 most "socially selective" schools in the country, 91 were comprehensives, eight were grammars and one secondary modern, the report found.

Since 2008, a mandatory admission code for schools has been in place, but the researchers said that "there is still wriggle room for schools that want to ensure a favourable intake to enable them to show up well in league tables".

Former studies by the trust which look at school admissions have been based on the number of children receiving free school meals, but this focused on the number whose families were on benefits.

The researchers looked at data called the Income Deprivation Affecting Children Index.

Created by the Department for Children, Schools and Families it charts the proportion of children in 32,482 areas whose families receive income support.

The report concludes: "Our view is that the principal means should be by ballot.

"It would be fair and lead to a more equitable education system. It would also greatly simplify the process by sweeping away much of the complexity and bureaucracy entailed by the present arrangements.

"It could be used in conjunction with other criteria, for example ability, faith, or location, but ultimately parental preferences and ballots should settle places where necessary."

The Sutton Trust works to boost social mobility through education.