Primary and secondary schools are close to "bursting" under the strain of a deluge of pupil applications.

The county council is blaming a 20 per cent rise in the birth rate in Surrey and the fallout from the recession as the key factors behind the rise.

They have received 427 more primary enquiries this year.

One of those came from Redhill mother and cancer sufferer Samantha Austin, 38, who is considering a home tutor for daughter Chloe, four, after she missed out on her three preferred choices on Monday.

She said: "I am absolutely outraged. The whole system is ridiculous. I applied for Chloe to go to Brambletye Junior School. Her sister, Grace, is already there, and her friends at her nursery are going there.

"However, I knew there can never be any certainty so her second and third choices were the next nearest primary schools to where we live in Frenches Road – Merstham and Wray Common.

"That would be common sense, but not to the council. They said Chloe couldn't have any of her preferred choices.

"Instead they offered us Sandcross. It is a good school but it is five miles away. With my condition and my husband working it just isn't feasible.

"I have rejected their offer and I'm going to lodge an appeal. Also, I'm looking into seeing how much it would cost to get a home tutor.

"I rely on crutches so there is no way I can perform that sort of school run in the morning."

Offer letters for primary places in September were sent out on Friday. School places were published online on Saturday at 7am.

Offer letters for secondary places went out on Monday and were published on the web Tuesday at 7am. Surrey needs to find an extra 6,000 places in primary and secondary schools over the next four years because of an increase in the birth rate.

The council has got a 5.2 per cent grant increase to cover the cost of teachers, other staff and books. It will have to borrow £145 million for extra classrooms and schools over four years and does not get any support from the Government for this.

Peter Martin, Surrey County Council cabinet member for children and learning, said: "To build two new primary schools to house 427 children would cost us £11 million."