A PRIMARY school is so popular that only youngsters who live within 300 yards of the gates are able to attend.

Fairhouse Infant School, in Long Riding, Basildon, had 60 places on offer for reception pupils, who will start later this week.

Because 81 parents applied, Essex County Council ranked applications by how close they lived to the school, with only those within 0.16 miles being offered a place.

It is the shortest distance out of every primary and secondary school in the county which was oversubsribed for this year.

Former teacher Phil Rackley, borough councillor for St Martin’s ward, said: “Personally I am a great believer in community schools and this just shows how Fairhouse is serving its community.

“As a teacher, I have always believed operating within a catchment area like this is the way schools should work, rather than parents having a so-called freedom of choice, which is always limited.”

The school has been oversubscribed for each of the past three years, with four children on the waiting list in 2014 and 22 in 2013.

Fairhouse Infant School, which is rated good by Ofsted, is due to merge with the neighbouring junior school next September.

Infant school headteacher Glenys Jones retired this summer, with junior school head Jennifer McCutcheon acting as headteacher of both schools for the upcoming year.

Mrs McCutcheon will then become headteacher of the combined primary school in 2016.

A final decision on the merger, which Mrs McCutcheon believes makes “good education sense”, is due to be made in November.

The infant school uses straight line distance as a determining factor if there is oversubscription within its other selection criteria.

Children who have brothers or sisters already attending the infant or junior school are given priority if they live within the relevant catchment area.

At the other end of the scale, South Green Infant School, in Ganels Road, Billericay, imposed a five-mile cut off point for this year’s intake.

In total, 267 schools across Essex were forced to impose a geographic cut-off point this year due to oversubscription.