Children face a long trek to class after missing out on places at their nearest secondary school.

Many families were told their children, who attend The Weald School in Beare Green, have not been offered places at The Priory School in Dorking.

Instead the 11-year-olds will be sent to Oakwood School in Balcombe Road, Horley – an estimated 35-minute drive away without any traffic compared to the 14-minute journey to The Priory School.

Philippa Edwards, of the Street in Capel, has four children at Weald School and her oldest has been offered a place at Horley's high school.

She said: "I am furious. I am by no means the only mum who feels this way. I pay my council tax for Mole Valley so why is my child being sent to Horley?

"I have never heard of children in Capel not being sent to a Dorking high school. What time will I have to put my son on a bus for him to get to school in Horley? How will he do extracurricular activities?

"I have three other children and I am worried they will be sent to Horley too. I am trying not to panic and hope they sort it out."

Anna-Kate Cooper, of The Street in Capel, has two daughters aged two and three to look after as well as son Patrick, 10, who has been allocated a place in Horley.

She said: "I am distraught. The Weald has always been a feeder school for the Priory. I haven't told Patrick yet – he will be so upset."

Other mothers, who had also put Priory School as the first choice for their children, have criticised the council – although all parents praised The Weald and Priory Schools for being supportive in the face of the crisis.

Jan Kelly, of Bennetts Wood, Capel, has seen her 17-year-old son go through The Priory School, and is devastated her daughter Katie, 10, has been turned away.

"My son really enjoyed The Priory School and has talked to my daughter about it.

"Katie was really looking forward to going.

"I would rather see her home tutored than have to go that far to school."

A clearly disappointed Katie said: "It is a shock, I always thought that was where I would go to school. A lot of my friends are going there and my brother went there – it's hard to believe that I might not."

Andre Sohatski, headteacher at the Priory School, said 13 parents have already contacted the school about admissions.

He said: "With the number of applications we received we decided we wanted all the first preferences to come here.

"Our theory was that local people who put this school as their first preference would get in and some reason not all of them have.

What I have done now is talk to the authority about putting on an extra classroom if there is enough children.

"I want the people from Capel to get into the school because taking the children from a wider area makes the school more outward looking."

A Surrey County Council spokeswoman said: "Surrey was in the top 20 authorities nationally for GCSEs in 2009 and the results were the best ever.

"With so many excellent schools, it is inevitable some parents will be disappointed with the offers they receive.

"Sometimes councils have to make tough decisions because it is a simple statistical fact that we will never be able to please everyone.

"However, we are always trying to make a hugely complex logistical process better for parents and pupils."

*If you are a parent and have concerns about the school place offered to your child contact chief reporter Nicole Le Marie by e-mail on nicole.lemarie@essnmedia.co.uk.