text: Siblings will no longer be given priority for school places amid soaring competition because of a booming population, it has emerged. Wandsworth council in London has announced that it is set to remove the rule giving an automatic place to a pupil's brothers and sisters even if the family has moved out of the catchment area. This comes after it was revealed that 80,000 children face missing out on their preferred primary school, with more than 20,000 at risk of being denied any of their preferred choices. In the most oversubscribed areas, four in ten pupils are expected not to get a place at their favourite school amid an escalating crisis over places fuelled by a baby boom and immigration. Wandsworth council has announced that it is set to remove the rule giving priority to pupils' siblings, pictured is Honeywell School which has a catchment area of just 182 metres . Wansdworth, which is an affluent borough, has decided to remove sibling priority from September 2016 in a bid to make the process fairer and give priority to children who live closest to schools. The change was also considered in Leeds and is expected to spread to more local authorities within the next few years, according to The Times. Families who move more than 800 metres from their preferred school in Wandsworth will lose their automatic entitlement to a place for younger brothers and sisters. A spokesman for the council said: 'A lot of people are getting school places then moving miles away, in some cases cashing in on house prices while retaining the school place. Siblings then get priority over children living closer to the school. The consultation was drawn up because parents were getting upset about this.' Honeywell, which is one of the most popular schools in Wandsworth, has a catchment area of just 182 metres, despite taking 90 children. None of the appeals for places at the schools were successful. Justine Roberts, Mumsnet CEO said: 'Giving priority to siblings is tricky; as one Mumsnet user says, 'it's lovely until the kids who live next door to the school can't get in'. 'For parents of two or more, having children at two different primaries can be a logistics nightmare; but for parents of only children, or to those whose children can't get in to nearby schools, it can feel pretty unfair. More than 80,000 children face missing out on their preferred primary school, with 20,000 at risk of being denied any of their preferred choices . 'On balance, most seem to think it would be sensible to restrict sibling priority to those families still living close to the school.' Wandsworth council announced the decision to consult parents  on the changes in September last year. Speaking at the time, education spokesman Cllr Kathy Tracey said: 'There has been a growing clamour from parents asking us to look at this rule because of mounting evidence that local school places are being offered to children living some distance away simply because they have an older sibling already enrolled there.' Professor Alan Smithers, director of the Centre for Education at the University of Buckingham, said: 'It's possible this could set a precedent. Canny parents, in order to get into a school, rent a property very close to the school gates then move back to their old property and siblings automatically get aplace. That's very annoying for people who genuinely live near the school. 'I'm sure the sibling rule will come under greater scrutiny if it continues to be abused in the way that it is.' Rachel Burrows from the UK's biggest parenting site Netmums said: 'Changing admission rules so siblings are no longer guaranteed a place at the same school will split parents' opinions. 'On the one hand, many parents will view the move as fairer as it will stamp out the practice of families renting a home near a good school to secure a place then moving out of the area. This has become commonplace near schools rated outstanding by Oftsed and can see kids that live close to a school denied a place in favour of siblings of children already at the school but who don't live locally. 'However, for parents who already have a child at one school but lose out on a place at the same establishment, it will cause chaos. They will face two or more school runs to different schools adding to traffic problems, more school administration and will be forced to buy extra uniforms and school kit. 'The proposals show starkly that the on-going baby boom has put unprecedented pressure on school places and local authorities are struggling to cope.' A surge of appeals is anticipated as families oppose their allocated schools, some of which will be up to two miles from their homes. Labour has released figures showing the number of young children being taught in classes of more than 30 pupils has more than tripled in five years. Data from councils shows that 102,615 pupils aged between five and seven are being taught in so-called supersize classes – compared with 31,265 in 2010. Councils are due to send out offers to more than 600,000 children for primary school places this September. Early figures obtained by the Daily Mail show that in East Sussex, 15 per cent did not get their first choice – up from 14 per cent last year. Just over 6 per cent got none of their choices. In Solihull, West Midlands, 13 per cent missed out on their first choice and 4 per cent got none. One school, Oak Cottage Primary School, had six applicants for every place. The figures are repeated in other areas.
target: Councils in London facing unprecedented pressure on primary places .
  Wandsworth council set to scrap rule giving siblings automatic priority .
  The aim is to make process fairer and give priority to those living nearby .
  More than 20,000 at risk of being denied any of their preferred choices .