Hundreds of children face an uncertain future on secondary school waiting lists as applications hit the highest levels for five years in Bromley.

Charles Darwin School, in Jail Lane, currently has a waiting list of about 200 pupils, after receiving around 500 applications for its 224 available places.

Between 1998 and 2001, the average number of Bromley resident children expected to move to a mainstream secondary school each year was 3,328.

This year, the number is 3,640, an increase of 12 per cent on last year.

Reasons for this include the increase in inclusion for pupils with special needs and the unpredictable number of children in independent or out-of-borough primary schools.

The most recent figures issued by the council show 391 children have not been offered a place, though 43 of these made no application and 49 had refused an offer.

Hotspots for the problem are Mottingham, Green Street Green, Petts Wood and West Wickham.

A quarter of available places in Bromley schools will be filled by pupils from other boroughs but schools cannot avoid this problem because of the notorious Greenwich Judgment, which prevents discrimination by borough.

Bromley's head of access and admissions and ex-headteacher Robin Bosher said: "Officers are working as hard as they can to arrange a place for every Bromley child, as we must do by law.

"The situation changes day by day, as some people are holding more than one offer.

"If concerned parents contact us they are dealt with sympathetically. We know that every one of the pupils is someone's child."

Education committee vice-chairman Councillor Peter Woods has already been contacted by six parents in his Petts Wood and Knoll ward, concerned about whether their children will get places.

He said: "There is no stone left unturned to help the education department at this time of year.

"Parents should rest assured that all councillors will be doing all they can. This situation is top of our priorities."